IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT.3) 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  873-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notas  tachniquas  at  biblicgraphiquas 


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D 


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Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  da  coulaur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagie 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restauree  et/ou  peilicul^e 


pn    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


□    Coloured  map^/ 
Cartes  giographiques  en  coulaur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  blaua  ou  noire) 


n~|    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


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Bound  with  other  material/ 
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II  sa  peut  que  certainas  pages  blanches  ajouttes 
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mais,  lorsque  cela  itait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
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p~|    Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

r~~|    Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 


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the 

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first 

sion 

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EShowthrough/ 
Transparence 

0    Quality  of  print  varies/ 
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Comprend  du  materiel  suppltmentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  idition  disponible 


The 
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Map 
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entli 
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Ce  document  est  filmt  au  taux  de  rMuction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


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V 


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to  the  generosity  of: 

Harold  Campbell  Vaughan  Memorial  Library 
Acadia  University 

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Harbid  Campbell  Vaughan  Memorial  Library 
Acadia  University 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  it6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettet«  de  rexemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fiimage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  'liustrated  impression. 


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derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iiiustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  fiimis  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iiiustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derni^re  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — »•  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"}, 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaTtra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  —»>  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "F3N". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  pouvent  Atre 
fiim^s  A  des  taux  de  rMuction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cilichA,  il  est  film*  A  partir 
de  I'angie  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  i  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

*  -K*     I,  5lf»  VPX,  *■ 


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^EM  ILA^BB  WAJBi 


BETWJfiE.V  THE 


UNITED  STATES  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN:. 


WITH  A 


CMTICAI.  APlBfiWBlX,  &c 


BY  EBENEZER  HARLOW  CUMMINS,  A. 


M. 


BALTIMORE: 

Printed  by  Benja.  Edes.  comer  of  Second  and  Gay-sli^et^. 


'  « 


1820. 


■■<*     ^:- 


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• 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


OijrcE  the  late  hostilities  with  Great  Britain,  several  books  Bavc 
been  published  in  the  United  States  purporting  to  be  histories 
ot  the  war.  No  (me  of  them,  it  is  believed,  can  be  received  as 
generally  authentic;  the  whole  adding  little  to  the  literary  char- 
acter of  the  country.  Of  those  most  generally  circulated,  we  can 
speak  the  lea^favourably,  as  specimens  of  history,  which  means 
sometlimg  mofe  than  compilations  from  newspapers,  or  a  Hrade 
of  epithets  stigmatising  our  adversaries.  Two  or  three  stipendi- 
aries occupied  the  fore  ground  in  the  race  of  the  booksellers  for 
tlie  market  of  the  United  States,  producing  interesting  though 
coarae  compilations;  which,  while  the  feelings  created  by  the  xviv 
were  still  m  lively  existence,  were  read  with  sensations  of  pleas- 
ure. But  no  one  now  wUl  ascribe  to  their  works,  the  name, 
much  less  the  character  of  history.  Weems'  life  of  Marion,  in 
which  the  autlior  has  collated  and  embellished  many  interesting 
events,  with  the  view  to  a  popular  book,  has  greatly  superiour 
p  retensions  to  either.  With  enough  of  fact  to  challenge,  at  this 
late  day,  the  credence  of  most  readers,  it  excels  in  all  kinds  of 
.jest  and  fancy;  and  administers  abundantly  of  the  finest  entertain- 
meiit  to  the  lovers  of  fun.    Not  so  the  works  we  have  noticed. 

Eaton,  Latour,  and  McAffee  have  furnished  books  of  a  differ- 
ent character.  They  are  useful;  containing  a  great  mass  of  im- 
portant information,  necessary  to  the  historian  who  shall  come 
ajter  the.n.  We  do  not  design  to  bring  up  for  criticism,  or  any 
thing  else,  the  many  other  histories,  sketches,  and  biographical 
memoirs,  published  in  different  parts  of  tiie  country.  They  ap- 
pear  to  have  been  sheltered  from  animadversion,  by  their  own 
demits,  and  naturally  reposed  in  oblivion. 

Cii*at  Britain,  too,  has  had  her  histories  of  the  war.  We  have 
seen  three:  Nicholson's,  Clarke's,  and  Baines'.  In  addition  to  the 
f.nghsh  histories  there  lias  been  one  published  in  Canada,  by  a 
Mr  James,  cooked  and  seasoned  exactly  for  the  palate  of  John 
Hull.  The  first  and  second  are  echoes  of  the  reports  of  Brit- 
iBh  commanders,  and  British  ministerial  newspapers  and  maga. 
■Mnes.     The  thuxl,  which  is  contained  in  tliis  volume.  difler.s  from 


ir 


them  as  All  m  composition  as  in  character.    It  is.  as  a  sneci. 

men  of  history,  very  superiour  to  any  thin?  we  have,  in  the  iame 

subject,  m  tl.e  United  States;  and  on  the  whole  a  liberal  and  X! 

nanimons  production.    It  was  not  expected  that  the  dominion 

of  h,s  ate  majesty,  George  III.  contained  a  British  subject,  who 

in  wntmg  a  history  of  the  war  with  the  United  States.  wouW 

dare  tell  John  Bull  to  his  teeth,  that  brother  Jonathan  h«d  broken 

his  nose  and  spilled  his  claret:  but  the  reader  wiU  find  ~  the 

history  of  Mr.  Baines  many  instances  of  this  darinir.     W«  have 

derived  infimte  satisfaction  from  the  contents  of  m!ny  chaptew 

in  this  book;  because  they  were  writen  by  a  British  subjectrand 

because  the  compliments  and  concessions  of  a  rival  are  «^atJv 

more  valuable  than  the  plaudits  we  bestow  on  ourselves    ^  ^ 

The  American  reader  must  excuse  the  historian  for  many  thinw 

t^^h!'^^^^''^^  call  errors,  when  he  reflects  upon  hisTelS 

^«^5— %''  *"'1>*'^  ''?"^.^'  ''~"»  ^'^^^^^  ^^  »»««  most  naturally 
drawn  his  information.  In  the  end,  he  has  fully  compensated  the 
pain  his  mistatements  excite,  by  the  honorable  admiJsions  to  the 
American  character,  of  gallantry,  intelligence,  and  virtue. 

Where  we  have  supposed  the  historian  In  error,  from  the  want 
of  just  information,  or  from  the  bias  of  his  feelings  in  fevour  of 
his  countrymen,  ke  have  corrected  him  by  a  Series  of  notes 
appended  to  this  volume;  and  where  he  has  indulged  too  freely 
m  prawe  of  British  commanders,  at  the  expense  of  the  Amer- 
lean  character,  we  have  extended  our  criticisms  to  a  iust  re- 
taliation.   We  have  left  untouched  the  original,  and  have  not 
interfered  at  all  with  the  notes  and  references;  except  to  correct 
typographical  mistakes  and  the  occasional  misnomer  of  American 
othcers.  The  numerical  figures,  to  be  found  interpetsed  throuiph. 
out  the  history,  refer  to  the  Appendix,  where  allour  animadver- 
sions  are  inserted.    It  is  not  pretended  that  all  occasions  for  crit- 
icims  have  been  fully  improved.   This  would  have  swelled  our 
commentary  to  an  unreasonable  size.  We  have  seized  only  on  the 
most  important,  leaving  those  merely  venial  to  be  occupied  bv 
the  reader;  in  doing  which  he  will  have  a  full  share  of  amuse- 
ment      On  the  capture  of  Washington,  and  several  other  ton- 
ics, we  have  not  enlarged,  because  we  have  been  unwilling  to 
revive  discussions  and  renew  animadversions,  which  now  sleep 
m  the  calm  that  has  so  happily  succeeded  the  tempest  of  war 
We  teel  now  as  much  disposed  to  foiwive  and  forget  the  blunders 
and  nusfortunes  of  the  unsuccesrfuJ,  as  we  are  qualified  more 
justly  to  appreciate  the  achievements  and  exploits  of  those  on 
whom  Victory  was  pleased  to  bestow  laurels.    To  the  former  we 
would  not  give  a  new  pang;  and  from  the  latter  we  have  not  re. 
moved  a  wreath,  though  accorded  by  the  people  transported  with 
joy  m  the  moments  ot  triumph,  when  honours  were  distributed 
without  discriminatiomand  too  frequently  without  regaid  to  merit 


BALTIMORE,  1820. 


r 


m^IE®IDlt(SI^I<^|f, 


The  relations  subsisting  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States  of  America  had  for  many 
years  exhibited  a  singular  aspect.  The  nations  were 
not  indeed  in  a  state  of  open  war,  but  the  conflict 
of  opposite  pretensions,  the  angry  discussion  of 
many  ,„tr,cate  questions  of  international  law,  the 
charges  and  recriminations  which  had  for  a  num. 
ber  of  years  formed  the  only  subject  of  their  diplo- 
matic  intercourse,  had  diffused  over  both  countries 

In  r  J"t  B  •,'"  '""'  "-""  "'  '"'^'""^  gratification. 
In  Grea  Bntam  an  idea  prevailed,  and  seemed  in 

a  co„,Uer«bIe  degree  to  influence  the  ministry! 

hadl.    r   .1  ^   7"""^'  *■"«  '"""^'y'  '^Wle  she 

towards  the  interests  and  views  of  France.     This 
op  ni„„  appeared  to  justify  those  who  were  decw! 
ediy  for  war  with  the  United  States.  i„  givinrcw 
ency  to  their  hostile  feelings,    sit  aLZ  or 
cumstance  also  operated  towards  the  same  end.  A 

A 


Yi 


war  with  America,  it  was  argued,  would  be  not 
only  just  but  of  short  continuance,  and  would  ex< 
hibit  a  scene  of  uninterrupted  and  splendid  succes- 
ses on  our  part,  and  of  defeat  and  disgrace  on 
theirs.  The  Americans,  on  the  other  hand,  were 
galled  and  irritated  by  the  attacks  made  on  their 
commerce;  by  the  right  of  search,  as  claimed  and 
exercised  by  England,  not  always  on  the  best 
grounds,  or  in  the  least  offensive  manner;  and  by 
the  impressment  and  detention  of  their  seamen; 
and  to  these  motives  for  war  was  probably  added 
the  hope  of  conquering  Canada,  and  of  enriching 
themselves  by  the  capture  of  our  merchant  ships. 

As  no  doubt  could  be  entertained,  that  in  tb« 
event  of  a  war  between  the  two  countries,  Canada 
would  be  attacked.  Sir  James  Craig,  the  governor 
of  that  province,  very  judiciously  took  exevy  mea- 
sure which  he  thought  could  he  effectual  or  condu- 
cive to  its  protection  and  defence.  Had  he  confin- 
ed himself  to  this  line  of  conduct  alone,  no  blame 
could  have  been  imputed  to  him;  but  he  thought 
liimself  justiified  in  sending  a  person,  of  tlie  name 
of  Henry,  into  the  United  States  on  a  very  ambig- 
uous and  reprehensible  errand.  This  man  was 
seized  (1)  by  the  American  government,  who  ob- 
tained possession  of  his  instructions,  as  well  as  co- 
pies of  the  communications  which  he  had  made  to 
Sir  James  Craig;  and  according  to  the  statements 
submitted  to  congress,  the  object  of  captain  Henry 
was  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  federal  party;  to 
ascertain  its  strength,  its  wishes,  and  its  views,  in 
the  different  states;  and  more  particuhirly  to  en- 


courai^p,  witli  the  promise  of  British  assistance, 
any  design  they  might  he  disposed  to  form  for  a 
separation  of  the  states.     This  conduct  on  the  part 
of  Great  Britain,  originating  in  one  of  her  highest 
authorities  in  North  America,  the  president,  in  a 
message   to    congress,    represented  as  a  flagrant 
hreach  of  public  faith,  committed  at  a  time  when 
Great  Britain  and  America  were  employed  in  dis- 
cussions of  amity  and  reconciliation.     When  the 
subject  of  the  mission  of  Capt.  Henry  was  brougjit 
•before  the  British  parliament,  ministers  refused  to 
produce  the  correspondence  and  papers  connected 
with  these  mysterious  transactions,  nor  did  they 
give  a  very  clear  and  satisfactory  account  of  the 
business.      They   denied,   however,   that   captain 
Henry  was  accredited  by  them,  or  that  they  were 
acquainted  with  the  intention  of  Sir  James  Craig 
to  employ  him.     Notwithstanding  this  disavowal, 
the  British  government   had  all  th©  disgrace  of 
having  acted  contrary  to  the  law  of  nations,  and 
at  the  same  time,  the  mortification  to  perceive  that 
the  American  people  were  more  closely  united  by 
this  most  injudicious  and  unjustifiable  attempt  to 
divide  them. 

Before  the  intelligence  of  the  assassination  of 
Mr.  Percival  (2)  reached  America,  that  govern- 
ment  had  determined  on  war  with  Great  Britain; 
and  early  in  the  month  of  June,  a  message  was 
sent  to  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives, 
containing  a  recommendation  to  that  effect.  In 
this  state  paper,   the  president  complains  of  the 

violation  which  the   AmAriran  Han.  K«-  «^  - A«-» 


via 

ly  suffered  from  British  vewels  "on  the  gi^at  high- 
way of  nations!"   of  the  practice  of  impressing 
American  seamen^*  of  the  violation  of  the  Ameri- 
can waters,  and  of  the  infraction  of  the  fundamen- 
tal  principles  of  the  law  of  nations,  by  the  pretend- 
ed 'blockades.'    But  all  these  causes  of  war  are  in 
the  message  held  as  subordinate  to  the  orders  in 
council,  both  in  the  injustice  which  they  display, 
and  in  the  injury  which  they  inflict.     These  orders 
>*ere,  it  is  said,  evidently  framed  so  as  best  to  suit 
the  political  views  and  the  commercial  jealousies 
of  the  British  government.  The  consequences  which 
would  result  from  them  to  neutral  nations  were 
never  taken  into  the  account,  or  if  contemplated 
OP  foreseen  as  highly  prejudicial,  that  considera- 
tion  had  no  weight  in  the  minds  of  those  by  whom 
they  were  imposed.    It  was,  indeed,  attempted  to 
justify  them,  by  an  appeal  to  similar  measures 
adopted  and  carried  into  execution  by  France;  as 
if  America  could  be  satisfied  with  the  unjust  and 
injurious  conduct  of  one  belligerent,  by  that  bellig- 


>(f»4i- 


'^■"1 


**n  a:.: 


•  Tn  »  publication,  issued  by  the  authority  of  tlie  American 
government,  entitled,  "An  Exposition  of  tlie  Causes  and  Char- 
acter of  the  War  with  Great  Britain,"  it  is  stated,  that  up  to 
March,  1811,  Great  Britain  had  impressed  from  the  crews  of 
American  vessels  peaceably  navigating  the  high  seas,  not  less 
than  six  thousand  mariners,  who  claimed  to  be  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  were  denied  all  opportunity  of  verifying 
their  claims.     And  in  the  same  publication  it  is  added,  that  when 
war  was  declared,  the  orders  in  council  had  been  maintained 
with  inexorable  hostility,  until  a  thousand  American   vessels, 
with  their  wrgoes,  1«ad  been  seized  and  confiscated  under  tho 
operation  of  these  edicts. 


erent  proving  that  she  bad   been  treated   in  an 
equally  unjust  ami  injurious  manner  by  tbe  other* 
But,  what  was  the  fact?     France,  indeed,  by  her 
Berlin  and  Milan  decrees,  manifested  her  willing- 
ness  and  disposition  to  impede  and  injure  neutral 
commerce,  in  order  that  she  might  thus  cripple  the 
trade  of  Great  Britain;  but  these  decrees  were  al- 
most a  dead  letter;  British  superiority  at  sea  pre- 
vented them  from  being  acted  upon  in  any  effective 
or  permanent  manner;  it  was  therefore  absurd  to 
attempt  to  justify  the  mischief  which  actually  flow- 
ed to  America  from  the  orders  in  council,  by  ap- 
pealing to  decrees  which,  while  Britain  remained 
mistress  of  the  sea,  wcl-o  utterly  without  effect. 
The  British  government  were  surprised  and  indig- 
nant that  America  viewed  the  conduct  of  France 
more  coolly  than  the  conduct  of  England;  not  re- 
collecting that  edicts  executed  against  millions  of 
American  property,  could  not  be  a  retaliation  on 
edicts  comparatively  impossible  to  be  executed. 
Besides,  this  plea  of  retaliation  was   untenable, 
when  viewed  in  another  light.  To  be  just,  retalia- 
tion should  fall  on  the  party  setting  the  guilty  ex- 
ample, and  not  on  the  innocent  party;  which,  more- 
over, could  not  be  charged  with  an  acquiescence  in 
the  injustice  practised  by  France. 

This  message,  which  was  dated  the  1st  of  Juns^ 
was,  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month,  succeeded  by 
an  act  of  congress,  containing  a  formal  declaratioiti 
of  war  against  Great  Britain.  Five  days  after 
this  declaration  of  war,  the  orders  in  council  wen; 
rescinded  by  the  British  fforernment..  h..f  th^  «« 
A  2  "^  '■  ----- 


Hval  cf  this  intelligence  in  America  (ltd  not  appe?.r 
in  the  slightest  degree  to  restore  a  pacific  disposi- 
tioK  on  the  part  of  that  government.    The  orders 
in  ccuncil,  she  said,  had  not  been  repealed  because 
they  were  unjust  in  their  principle  and  highly  de^ 
trimental  in  their  effects  on  neutral  commerce.  On 
the  contrary,  the  motive  of  their  repeal  was  ob- 
viously selfish,  and  had  no  reference  to  the  rights 
of  neutral  nations.    America,  to  protect  herself, 
and  to  aveng.i  her  wrongs,  had  prohibited  all  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  Great  Britain.    The  latter 
power,  thus  deprived  of  Iser  best  customer,  had  no 
longer  a  sufficient  and  regular  market  for  her  man- 
ufactures and  colonial  pr^iduce^  her  merchants  and 
har  manufacturers  were  nearly  ruined;  distress, 
discontent,  and  poverty,  spread  over  her  territorv. 
complaints  and  petitions  poured  in  from  all  quar- 
ters; and  the  orders  in  council  were  repealed,  not 
to  render  justice  to  America,  but  to  rescue  a  large 
portion  of  the  British  people  from  absolute  starva- 
tion.   It  was,  however,  stated,  that  if  the  revoca- 
tion  of  the  orders  in  council  had  tak<?n  .'^tace  suf- 
ficiently early  to  have  been  communicated  to  the 
United  States  before  they  had  actually  declared 
war,  the  repeal  of  these  decr-.es  against  neutraS 
commerce  would  have  arres^3d  the  resort  to  arms; 
and  that  one  cause  of  the  war  being  removed,  the 
othsr  essential  cause— the  practice  of  impressment, 
would  have  been  the  subject  of  renewed  uegocia- 
tion.    But  the  declaration  of  war  having  announc- 
ed the  pracdce  of  iuipi^essmeuc  as  one  of  the  prln- 


cipal  causes,  peace  could  only  be  the  result  of  an 
express  abandonment  of  that  practice.'**' 

Such  are  the  causes  of  war,  as  stated  in  the  offi- 
cial papers  put  forth  by  the  government  of  America; 
but,  in  a  declaration  promulgated  by  the  Prince 
Regent  of  England,  some  months  after  letters  of 
mai-que  and  reprisals  against  America  had  been 
issued,  it  was  stated,  "that  the  real  origin  of  the 
contest  v/asto  be  found  in  that  spirit  which  had 
long  unhappily  actuated  the  councils  of  the  United 
States— their  marked  partiality  in  palliating  and 
assisting  the  aggressive  tyranny  of  France,-  their 
systematic  endeavour  to  inflame  the  people  against 
the  defensive  measures  of  Great  Britain;  their  in- 
jurious conduct  towards  Spain,  the  immediate  ally 
of  Great  Britain;  and  their  unworthy  desertion  of 
the  cause  of  other  neutral  nations."    «It  is  through 
the  prevalence  of  such  councils,"  says  the  declara- 
tion, <*that  America  has  been  associated  in  policy 
with  France,  and  committed  in  war  against  Great 
Britain.    And  under  what  conduct  on  the  part  of 
France  has  the  government  of  the  United  States 
thus  lent  itself  to  the  enemy?     The  contemptuous 
violation  of  the  commercial  treaty  of  the  year  1800, 
between  France  and  the  United  States;  the  treach- 
erous  seizure  of  all  American  vessels  and  cargoes, 
in  every  harbour  subject  to  the  control   of  the 
French  arms;  the  tyrannical  principles  of  the  Ber- 
lin and  Milan  decrees,  and  the  confiscations  under 
them;  the  subsequent  condemnation  under  the  Ram- 

•  Exposition  of    ic  Causes  and  Character  of  the  War  with 
Great  Britaio. 


r* 


si 


xii 

bouillet  decree,  antedated  or  concealed  to  render  it 
more  effectual^  the  French  commercial  regulations, 
'  which  rendered  the  trafic  of  the  United  States  with 
France  almost  illusory;  the  burning  of  their  mer- 
chant ships  at  sea,  long  after  the  alleged  repeal  of 
the  French  decrees—all  these  acts  of  violence  on 
the  part  of  France  produced  from  the  government 
of  the  United  States  only  such  complaints  as  end 
in  acquiescence  and  submission;  or  are  accompanied 
by  suggestions  for  enabling  France  to  give  the 
semblance  of  legal  form  to  her  usurpations,  by 
converting  them  into  municipal  regulations.  This 
disposition  9f  the  government  of  the  United  States— 
this  complete  subserviency  to  the  ruler  of  France— 
this  hostile  temper  towards  Great  Britain,  are  evi- 
dent in  almost  every  page  of  the  official  correspon- 
dence  of  the  American  with  the  French  govern- 
ment, and  form  the  real  causes  of  the  present  war 
between  America  and  Great  Britain."* 

•  Declaration  of  the  Prince  Regent,  dated  January  9th,  1813. 


ies  with 
ir  mer- 
ipeal  of 
mce  on 
rnmcnt 
as  end 
ipanied 
ive  the 
tiis^  by 
This 
tates — 
ance — 
ire  evi- 
•espon- 
;overn- 
nt  war 

1, 1813. 


©IHA^ffffim  2^ 


At  a  period  when  hostilities  raged  in  Europe  to 
an  extent  almost  unexampled,  in  the  year  1812, 
the  demon  of  war  extended  his  dominions  to  th« 
western  hemisphere^  and  his  sceptre,  after  an  in- 
terval of  nearly  thirty  years,  was  again  swayed 
over  the  flourishing  regions  of  North  America. 
Disputes,  coeval  with  the  wars  of  the  French  re- 
volution, had  terminated  in  a  formal  declaration  of 
war  against  Great  Britain  by  the  congress  of  the 
United  States,  passed  on  the  I8th  of  June,  and 
carried  in  the  senate  by  a  majority  of  nineteen  to 
thirteen  voices,  and  in  the  house  of  representatives 
by  a  majority  of  seventy-nine  to  forty-nine  voices. 
The  causes  of  this  decision,  it  has  been  already 
seen,  resolved  themselves  into  four.  The  search  of 
American  ships—the  impressment  of  American  sea- 
men— tlie  unlimited   extension  of  the  system   of 
blockade— and  the  rigours  exercised   on  neutral 
commerce  under   tlie  British   orders  in  council. 
The  last  of  these  grievances  was  removed  a  few 
days  after,  the  appearance  of  the  president's  pro- 
clamation announcing  the  decision  of  congress,  but 
the  other  causes  of  complaint  remained  unredress- 
ed, and  the  intelligence  of  the  revocation  of  the  or- 
ders in  council  did  not  reach  America  till  hostili- 
ties had  actually  commenced. 


N 


U 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


At  the  moment  when  America  Aentured  to  de- 
clare war  against  the  most  powerful  maritime  state 
in  the  world,  her  own  navy,  if  navy  it  could  he 
called,  did  not  include  one  single  line  of  battle 
fihip,^  and  the  utter  annihilation  of  her  frigates  and 
smaller  vessels  was  predicted  in  this  country  with 
a  vaunting  confidence,  that  gave  increased  poig- 
nancy to  the  disappointment  and  disasters  which 
Great  Britain  was  doomed  in  the  prosecution  of 
her  naval  campaigns  to  endure.  The  military 
force  of  the  United  States,  though  numerically  for- 


i 


♦  NAVAL  FORCE 

or    THI    trVITiB    STITZS    or    AMERICA    AT   THE    COMMSXCKMEirT   Or 

HOSTILITIES  iir  1812. 


^^^H 

Bated. 

•Mounting:       Commandera. 

^^^H 

i' 

Constitution 

44  gins. 

56 

guns 

.    Capt.  Hull. 

^I^H 

United  States  44 

66 

Decatur. 

^^H 

President 

44 

56 

Com.    Ilodgers 

^^H 

Chesapeake 

36 

41 

Ordinary. 

^^^^^^^K 

Kew-York 

Constellation 

Congress 

"Hi 

44 
44 
44 

^^H 

36 

^^^B 

; 

36 

^^^^^^B 

^H 

Boston 

32 

— 

^ 

Essex 

A  riama 

32 
32 

^Hv 

i 

\ 

^^^^^^B 

Corvette,  John  Adams 

vm 

26 

Capt.  Ludlow. 

^^B 

Shipaof^WiBp 

— 

18 

Capt.  Jones. 

^H  f 

war. 

C  Hornet 



18 

• 

I^wrence. 

^^^B 

Briga 

Siren 

— 

16 

Lieut.  Carroll. 

^^^^^^^B 

^^^^^^^^B 

^^^^^^^H 

Argus 

— . 

16 

Crane. 

^^R 

Oneida 



16 

Com.  Woolsey. 

^^H 

^^^^H 

Sch'rs. 

Vixen 

— 

12 

Lieut.  Gadsden. 

^^^HH 

Nautilus 



12 

Sinclair. 

Enterprize 
Viper 

— 

12 
12 

Blakeley. 

^^^^^I^H 

Bainb  ridge 

J3omhf — Vengeance,  Spitfire,  Etna,  Vesuvius. 


CKMEITT   OT 


▲5D  GREAT  BEITAIN.  }9 

midable,*  was  principally  cf  an  irregular  kind, 
without  discipline,  unaccustomed  to  the  hardships 
of  war,  and  destitute  of  that  patient  endurance  and 
subordinate  spirit,  without  which  armies,  however 
strong,  are  always  liable  to  become  the  mutinous 
depositories  of  panic. 

The  United  States  of  America  have  always  had 
their  full  share  of  party  spirit — the  inseparable 

•  MILITARY  FORCE. 
Nearly  the  whole  of  the  session  of  congress  preceding  the  de- 
claration of  war  by  America,  was  occupied  in  preparations  for 
hostilities:  on  the  Uth  of  January,  t8l2,  an  act  was  passed  for 
i-aising  ten  regiments  of  infantry,  two  regiments  of  artillery,  and 
oi!  ;  regiment  of  light  dr^igoons;  to  be  enlisted  for  five  years; 
the  infantry  to  amount  to  20,000,  the  artillery  to  4,000,  and  the 
cavalry  to  1,000  men.  C»n  the  6th  of  the  following  month,  an 
act,  authorizing  the  president  of  the  United  States  to  accept  the 
service  of  certain  volunteer  corps,  not  exceeding  50,000,  passed 
into  a  law;  and  by  an  act  of  congress,  passed  tlie  10th  of  April, 
detachments  from  the  militia  to  the  amount  of  100,000  were  voted 
in  the  following  proportions: — 

Newhampshire    -    -    -    3,500    Virginia 12,000 

Massachusetts   -     -    .    10,000    North  Carolina    -    -    -    7,000 
Connecticut    ....    3,000    South  Carolina  ....  5,000 

Rhode  Island     -    .     -     -    500    Georgia 3,500 

Vermont 3,000    Kentucky 5,500 

New  York    ....     13,000    Ohio 5,000 

New  Jersey    ....    5,000    Tennessee 2,500 

Pennsylvania    .    .    -     14,000  

Delaware i,000  Total 100,000 

Maryland      .     -    .    -     6,C00  

The  regular  army  of  the  United  States,  upon  th*  declaration 
of  war,  consisted  of  eleven  regiments  of  L.  old  peace  establish- 
ment, estimated  at  five  hundred  men  each. 

in  tlie  naval  dt-puriinent,  acts  were  passed  for  repairing  and 
building  frigates,  and  for  making  tlie  necessary  appropriations 


n 


i 


I 


16 


THE  tfiriTED  STATEg 


concomitant  of  a  free  government;  and  a  war  so 
differently  affecting  the  different  parts  of  the  union, 
could  not  fail  to  call  forth  those  violent  political 
contentions  for  which  that  republic  is  so  much  dis- 
tinguished.     At  Boston,   the  declaration  of  war 
was  made  the  signal  of  a  general  mourning,-  all  the 
ships   ,n    the   harbour  displayed  flags   half  mast 
high;  and  in  that,  as  in  other  cities  of  the  northern 
states,   public  meetings   of  the   inhabitants  were 
held,  at  which  a  number  of  resolutions  were  passed, 
stigmatizing  the  approaching  contest  as  unneces- 
sary  and  ruinous,  and  as  tending  to  a  connection 
with  France  destructive  to  American  liberty  and 
independence.     Immediately  after  the  declaration 
of  war  a  party  was  formed,  called  the  *^peace  par- 
ty,' which  combined  nearly  the  whole  of  the  fede- 
ralists throughout  the  United  States,  and  by  whom 
a  steady,   systematic,   and   energetic   opposition, 
principally  directed  against  the  national  finances, 
was  maintained  to  the  latest  period  of  the  war. 
The  demands  of  this  party  for  the  restoration  of 
peace  were  as  loud  and  im])erious  as  had  been  their 
cry  for  war  in  the  years  1806-7,  and  their  conduct 
at  the  two  periods  appears  totally  irreconcilable  to 
any  principle  of  patriotism  and  consistency. 

for  the  defence  of  the  maritime  frontier;  other  acts,  apportion- 
ing  the  sums  to  be  appUed  to  the  support  of  the  army,  the  navy, 
and  the  irregular  troops,  all  passed  in  succession;  to  meet  which 
demands,  Mr.  Gallatin,  the  minister  of  finance,  in  submitting  the 
budget  to  congress  on  the  12th  of  January,  recommended  a  loan 
often  nrullious  of  dollars  for  fhp  pni.,.o.,*  , 


•**"»  OBBAT  BBITAIN.  jy 

With  the  democratic  party,  and  in  the  southern 
states,  ,n  paiticular,  where  swarms  of  privateers 
were  prepari„g  to  reap  a  rich  harvest  among  the 
West  India  wlands.  the  popular  sentiment  was  de- 
CKledly  m  favour  of  warj  (3)  and  of  all  the  cities 

I^'^'TI"  *•""  '"'*™'*'  ^*'"'»'»''  ?«"-'"*« 
l-tood  ,„  tha  ftrst  rank  in  zeal  and  in  violence.    A 

journal,  published  in  that  place,  entitled  the  "Fed 
eral  Republican,"  had  rendered  itself  obnoxious  hy 
Jte  opposition  to  the  measures  of  government,  and 
menaces  had  been  repeatedly  thrown  out  against 
Its  conductors.     On  the  night  of  the  snh  of  July  a 
mob   assembled  before  the  house  of  the  editor 
which  was  defended  by  his  friends  with  so  much 
gaHantry  that  the  assailants  from  without  were 
several  times  repulsed.    At  length,  towanls  mid- 
mght,  a  party  ofmilitary,  attended  by  the  mayor, 
were  brought  to  the  spot,  under  the  command  of 
general    Strieker,   to    whom    generijs  Lee   and 
l.ingan,  who  had  both  assisted  in  defending  the 
editor's  house,  surrendered  themselves,  along  with 
four  and  twenty  other  persons,  and  were  conducted 
to  the  town  gaol  as  a  place  of  security.     The  mob 
now  dispersed,  and  this  ebullition  of  popular  phren- 
zy  would  probably  have  subsided,  had  not  a  jour- 
nal  opposed  in  principle  to  the  Federal  Republican, 
had  the  baseness  to  fan  the  dying  embers,  by  call- 
ing upon  the  insurgents  not  to  let  their  victims  es- 
cape  without  executing  vengeance  upon  them.— 
Roused  again  to  action  by  this  incendiarv  Dublira. 
uon,  uie  mob  re-assembled,  hi-nke  ««»„  ♦;,.  _.  , 
and  attacked 


B 


objects  of  their  fury.     In  th 


18 


THE  UNITED  STATES^   &C. 


midst  of  the  commotion  several  of  the  prisoners 
succeeded  in  escaping  from  the  hands  of  their  pep, 
secutors;  but  others,  less  fortunate,  were  assailed 
with  clubs  and  knives,  and  left  without  signs  of 
life  at  the  outside  of  the  prison.     General  Lingan, 
a  veteran,  upwards  of  seventy  years  of  age,  who 
had  fought  the  battles  of  his  country  by  the  side  of 
his  friend  general  Washington,   was  dragged  to 
the  door  of  the  prison,  and  inhumanly  butchered 
on  the  spot.     General  Lee,  a  distinguished  parti- 
san officer  in  the  revolutionary  war,  was  danger^ 
ously  woundedj  and  several  others  of  his  federal 
companions  shared  a  similar  fate.    It  is  due  to  the 
Americans  to  add,  that  this  outrage,  which  in  atro- 
city  exceeded  the  horrors  perpetrated  by  the  mobs 
of  Birmingham  and  Manchester  about  the  period 
of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  between  Great  Bri- 
tain and  France,  was  regarded  with  indignation  in 
every  other  part  of  the  United  States.  (4) 


I 

f 


i. 


■^■■Ni.  .«  ..4M.  m*-.jamAm, 


(8IIAMP12IB  SI. 


The  first  military  effort  made  by  America  was 
directed  against  the  British  province  of  Upper 
Canada.  Early  in  the  year  a  body  of  militia, 
amounting  to  two  thousand  five  hundred  men,  had 
been  placed  under  the  command  of  general  Hull; 
and  on  the  12th  of  July  the  American  army  cross- 
ed the  river  Detroit,  and  erected  the  standard  of 
the  United  States  in  Upper  Canada.  The  general 
t)f  the  invading  army,  on  bis  arrival  at  Sandwich, 
issued  a  proclamation  to  the  British  colonists,  in- 
Titing  the  militia  to  return  to  their  homes,  and  pro- 
mising to  the  peaceable  inhabitants  the  ««blessing 
of  peace,  liberty,  and  security^" 


^-m 


PROCLAMATION. 


'  ■   '    '  "Head-guarterst  SaTiditdch  July  12,  1812. 

"inhabitants  of  Canada! 

"After  thirty  years  of  peace  and  prosperity, 
the  United  States  have  been  driven  to  arms.  Tho 
injuries  and  aggressions,  the  insults  and  indigni- 
ties of  Great  Britain,  have  once  more  left  them  no 
alternative  but  manly  resistance  or  unconditional 
submission.  The  army  under  my  command  has 
invaded  your  country.  The  standard  of  the  union 
now  waves  over  the  territory  of  Canada.  To  the 
peaceable,  unoffending  inhabitants  it »-  -5 ngs  neither 


lil 


^^  THE  riflTED  STATES 

danger  nor  difficulty.    1  come  to  find  enemies,  not 
t»  make  them.    I  come  to  protect,  not  to  injure 

"Separated  by  an  immense  ocean  and  an  exten- 
sive wilderness  from  Great  Britain,  vou  have  no 
participation  in  her  councils,  no  interest  in  hep 
conduct.     You  have  felt  her  tyranny;  you  have  ^ 
seen  her  injustice;  but  I  do  not  ask  you  to  avenge 
the  one,  or  to  redress  the  other.      The  United 
States  are  sufficiently  poweiful  to  afford  every  se- 
ciinty,  consistent  with  their  rights  and  your  ex- 
pectations.    I  tender  you  the  invaluable  blessing  6f 
civil,  political,  and  religious  libeHy,  and  their  ne- 
cessary result,  individual  and  general  prosperity; 
that  liberty  which  gave  decision  to  our  councils, 
and  energy  to  our  conduct,  in  a  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence, which  conducted  us  safely  and  trium- 
phantly through  the  stormy  period  of  the  revolu- 
tion—the liberty  which  has  raised  us  to  an  elevated 
rank  among  the  nations  of  the  world;  and  which 
afforded  us  a  greater  measure  of  peace  arid  securi- 
ty, of  wealth  and  improvement,  than  ever  fell  t« 
the  lot  of  any  people.    In  the  name  of  my  country, 
and  the  authority  of  government,  I  promise  you 
protection  to  your  persons,  property,  and  rights. 
Remain  at  your  homes;  pursue  your  peaceful  and 
customary  avocations;  raise  not  your  hands  against 
your  brethren.     Many  of  your  fathers  fought  for 

the  freedom  and  independence  we  now  enjoy 

Being  children  therefore  of  the  same  family  with 
lis,  and  heirs  to  the  same  heritage,  the  arrival  of 
an  army  of  friends  must  be  hailed  by  you  with  a 


II 


AND  GREAT  BRITAIIT. 


21 


cordial  welcome.     You  will  be  emancipated  from 
tyranny  and  oppression,  and  restored  to  the  digni- 
fied station  of  freedom.    Had  I  any  doubt  of  event- 
ual success,  1  might  ask  your  assistance:  but  I  do 
not.    I  come  prepared  for  every  contingency— I 
have  a  force  which  will  break  down  all  opposition, 
and  that  force  is  but  the  van-guard  of  a  much 
greater.     If,  contrary  to  your  own  interest,  and 
the  just  expectations  of  my  country,  you  should 
take  part  in  the  approaching  contest,  you  will  be 
considered  and  treated  as  enemies,  and  the  horrors 
and  calamities  of  war  will  stalk  before  you.     If 
the  barbarous  and  savage  policy  of  Great  Britain 
be  pursued,  and  the  savages  are  let  loose  to  murder 
our  citizens,  and  butcher  our  women  and  children, 
this  war  will  be  a  war  of  extermination.     The  first 
Stroke  of  the  tomahawk— the  first  attempt  with  the 
ficalping-knife,  will  be  the  signal  of  one  indiscrimi- 
nate  scene  of  desolation.    No  white  man  found 
fighting  by  the  side  of  an  Indian  will  be  taken  pri- 
soner— instant  death  will  be  his  lot.    If  the  dic- 
tat6s  of  reason,  duty,  justice,  and  humanity,  can- 
not prevent  the  employment  of  a  force  which  re- 
spects no  rights,  and  knows  no  wrong,  it  will  be' 
prevented  by  a  severe  and  relentless  system  of  re- 
taliation.  I  doubt  not  your  courage  and  firmness— 
I  will  not  doubt  your  attachment  to  liberty.    If 
you  tender  your  services  voluntarily,  they  will  be 
accepted  readily.    The  United  States  offer  you 
peace,  liberty,  and  securitv.     Vmin  nhnin^  i:-«  k^ 
tween  these,  and  war,  slavery,  and  destruction. 
Choose  then,-  but  choose  wisely,-  and  may  he  who 

B  2  . 


%i 


THE  rWITED  STATES 


i  'J 


knows  the  justice  of  our  cause,  and  who  holds  in 
his  hand  the  fate  of  nations,  guide  you  to  a  result 
the  most  compatible  with  your  rights  and  interests, 
your  peace  and  happiness.     By  the  general, 

"A.  P.  HULL." 

This  proclamation,  which  expressed  the  utmost 
confidence  of  success,  threatened  a  war  of  extermi- 
nation in  case  of  the  employment  of  the  Indian 
tribes,  which  appear  to  have  been  the  objects  of 
general  Hull's  peculiar  dread  and  apprehension. 
The  Indians  were  however  already  engaged  in 
hostilities  with  the  subjects  (5)  of  the  United  States; 
and  on  the  17tb  of  July  intelligence  was  received  of 
the  capture  of  Fort  Michilimachinack,  the  most 
northern  mUitary  post  in  the  United  States,  hy.  4 
comhined  operation  of  the  British,  the  Canadians, 
and  the  savages. 

After  i^assing  the  line  of  demarkation,  by  which 
the  British  settlements  in  North  America  are  se- 
parated from  the  territory  of  the  United  States, 
general  Hull  advanced  against  Fort  Amhcrstburg, 
or  Maiden,  the  garrison  of  which  consisted  of 
about  six  hundred  men,  under  the  command  of 
Lieut.  Col.  St.  George.  Here  the  American  gem^ 
ral  received  his  first  check,  and  was  three  ti  .os 
repulsed  in  his  attempt  to  cross  the  Canard  ri- 
ver. (6)  General  Sir  George  Prevost,  the  British 
governor  in  chief,  with  a  laudable  display  of  promp- 
titude and  skill  had  made  all  the  arrangements  in 
his  power  m  i  ih^  defence  of  Upper  Canada,  and 
the  command  of  the  force  destined  for  this  purpose. 


AND  GREAT  BBITAIN. 


td 


consisting  of  thirty  royal  artillery  men,  two  Imn- 
dred  and  fifty  regular  troops  of  the  4 1st  regiment, 
four  hundred  Canadian  militia,  and  six   hundred 
Indians,  was  conferred  on  major-general  Brock. 
It  might  have   been  supposed  that  such  a  force 
would  have  proved  totally  inadequate  to  meet  t!je 
American  array;  hut  the  defective  composition  of 
the  enrmy^s  lr.>ops,  and  the  want  of  energy  and 
skill  in  their  commander,   soon  displayed  them- 
selves in  a  manner  that  portended  their  final  over- 
throw.    The  talents  of  general  Hull  were  totally 
unequal  to  the  enterprise  he  had  undertaken.     Ig- 
norant of  the  situation  and  movements  of  the  Bri- 
tish force,  which  were  coming  to  relieve  the  fort  to 
which  he  had  laid  siege,  and  continually  harassed 
and  bewildered  with  various  and  contradictory  re- 
ports concerning  the  different  tribes  of  the  hostile 
Indians,  indecision  and  distrust  began  to  prevail  in 
the  camp.  Tlie  plan  of  attacking  Amherstburg  was 
abandoned,  and  on  the  8th  of  August  the  Ameri- 
cans retreated  to  Detroit,  the  capital  of  the  Michi- 
gan territory,  without  even  the  appearance  of  an 
enemy  to  pursue  them.* 

On  the  arrival  of  major-general  Brock  at  Am- 
h  rftburg,  on  the  ISth,  he  found  that  colonel  Pro- 
tor  had  begun  to  erect  batteries  opposite  Fort  De- 
troit, and  although  opposed  by  a  well  directed  fire 
from  seven  twenty-four  pounders,  the  Works  were 
continued  without  intermission.  The  forre  at  the 
disi|sal  of  the  British  general  being  all  collected 

the*  a™?!!-'''   f'""  '°''"'^  ""'''  ''  *^^  Hon.  WiUiam  Eustice, 
tne  Amer^n  Secretary  at  War. 


« 


iliiiiPMMH 


24 


THE  UNITEll  STATES 


m  the  iieighboijihood  of  Sandwicli,  (hey  passed  the 
river  in  the  (•oui-se  of  the  15th  without  molestation, 
«nd  advanced  on  the  following  morning  io  Spring 
Well,  an  advantageous  position  three  miles  west  of 
Detroit.     The  Indians,  who  had  in  the  mean  time 
effected  their  landing  two  milcr^  helow,    noved  for- 
wards ana  occupieu  the  woods,  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  to  the  west  of  the  Britiah  position.     Having 
learned  that  general  Hull  had  dispatched  colonel 
M*Arthur,  one  of  his  best  officers,  with  a  detach- 
ment  of  five  hundred  men,  to  escort  a  supply  of 
provisions  from  the  river  Raisin,  general  Brock 
decided  on  an  immediate  attack,  and  advanced  with 
a  resolution  to  carry  Detroit  on  the  land  side, 
while  the  Indians  penetrated  the  camp.     When  the 
head  of  the  British  column   had  arrived  within 
about  five  hundred  yards  of  the  American  lines, 
orders  were  given  by  general  Hull  for  the  whole 
of  his  troops  to  retreat  to  the  fort,  and  for  the  ar- 
tillery not  to  open  on  the  assailants.    A  white  flag, 
bung  from  the  walls,  indicated  the  wish   of  the 
American  general  to   capitulate;   and   the  terms 
were  soon  agreed  upon.     By  this  capitulation,  so 
glorious  to  the  arms  of  Great  Britain,  but  so  dis- 
graceful to  the  American  army,  not  less  than  two 
thousand  five  hundred  men  became  prisoners  of 
war,  and  thirty-three  pieces  of  brass  and  iron  ord- 
nance fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors. 

In  endeavouring  to  appreciate  the  motives,  and 
^/"iT*!^^*^  the  cAuses,  which  led  to  this  deSsive 
but  bloodless  victory,  it  is  impossible  to  find  any 
solution  of  the  mysterioivs  surrender  of  general 


I 


AND  GBEAT  BRITAIN.  £5 

Hull  in  the  relative  strength  of  the  contending  ar- 
mies.    In  numbers,  the  Americans  were  far  supe- 
rior to  their  enemies;  and  their  supply  of  ammu- 
nition, and  provisions,  was  by  no  means  exhaust- 
ed.*    General  Hull,  the  commander-in-chief,  in 
following  the  course  he  pursued,  acted  entirely  up- 
on his  own  responsibility;  and  when  his  conduct 
came  to  be  investigated  before  a  court-martial,  he 
^»as  found  guilty  of  neglect  of  duty,  unofficer-like 
conduct,  and  cowardice,  and  adjudged  to  be  shot,* 
but  in  consideration  of  "his  revolutionary  services, 
and  his  advanced  age,"  the  court  recommended 
him  to  mercy;  and  the  president,  while  he  express- 
ed  his  approbation  of  the  sentence,  thought  proper 
to  remit  its  execution. 

The  British  arms  were  destined  to  attain  yet 
higher  honors  in  the  defence  of  Canada.    The  sea- 
son  was  far  advanced  before  the  Americans  could 
collect  a  sufficient  force  upon  the  Niagara  frontier 
to  attempt  offensive  operations;  but  in  the  month 
of  October,  general  Van  Rensselaer,  of  the  New- 
York  militia,  fixed  his  head-quarters   at  Lewis- 
town,  between  the  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie,  with 
a  force  under  h\3  command  amounting  to  about 
four  thousand  men,  of  which  fifteen  hundred  were 
regular  troops,  and  the  remainder  the  militia  con- 
tingents of  the  neighbouring  stges.     Early  on  the 
morning  of  the   I3th,  a  division  of  the  enemy's 
troops,  under  general  Wadsworth,  embarked  near 
the  falls  of  Niagara,  tind  made,  an  aHarh  »«««  +k- 

•  Report  of  colonel  Cass  to  the  Secretary  at  War. 


26 


THE  ViriTED  STATES 


British  position  of  Queenstown.  Although  the  day 
had  not  yet  dawned,  this  post  was  defended  with 
«ndaun.e,  gallantry  hy  the  two  flank  cZtliJ', 

ttir  i^'irT".'"*;  ""'""'*•"'  "^  *•"'  P-^'^-"^*  of 
vlabfe  rr  "''  ""'J-S*""'-'"  Brock,  whose 

valuable  l.re  „as  o„  this  occasion  devoted  to  his 
country's  service.     The  British  position  fell  with 
their  evcr-to-be-lamented  general;  but  reinforce- 
ments of  regular  troops,  militia,  and  Indians,  hav- 
".g  been  sent  up  from  Fort  Ueorge,  under  the  di- 
rection  of  major-general  Sheaffe,  who  now  assum- 
ed the  command  of  the  army,  a  movement  was 
made  on  the  enemy's  left,  while  a  body  of  artillery, 
under  the  able  direction  of  captain  Holcroft,  sup- 
ported by  a  body  of  i„fa„try,  engaged  him  in  front. 
Ihis  operation  was  further  aided  by  the  iudiciouq 
position  which  Norton,  the  Indian  ^hief  ha  tZ 
on  the  woody  high  ground  above  Queenstown,    A 
communication  being  thus  opened  with  Chippaway. 
a  junction  was  formed  with  farther  succours  which 
had  been  ordered  from  that  station.     The  crisis  of 
the  battle  was  now  approaching,  and  a  powerful 
mnforcement  dispatched  to  the  aid  of '     neral 
Wadsworth.  from  the  American  side  of  the  river, 
might  have  secured  the  victory;  but  to  the  utter 
astonishment  of  the  commander-in-chief,  he  found' 
that  the  ardour  of|he  "unengaged  troops"  had  en- 
tirely  subsided,  alJd  all   his  solicit.ations.  though 
seconded  by  the  efforts  of  lieutenant-colonel  Bloom, 
and  Mr.  Justice  Peck,  could  not  prevail  upon  his 


insiiImfHInQfo  i»..: X-   -1       ...  * 

„.v.  xv^Tj^a  w  i-moarK  lu  the  assistance 


of 


AND  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


«r 


their  companions  in  arms.*    Finding  that  no  rein- 
forcements would  pass  the  river,  and  being  well 
aware  that  the  brave  men  on  the  heights  were  ex- 
hausted, and  nearly  out  of  ammunition,  boats  were 
sent  (7)  by  general  Van  Rensselaer  to  cover  the 
retreat  of  the  troops  under   general  Wadsworth, 
but  the  boats  were  dispersed,  and  so  many  of  the 
boat-men  had  fled  panic-struck,  that  only  few  of 
the  vessels  quitted  the  shore.*    At  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  a  vigorous  attack  was  made  upon  the 
enemy's  lines,  and  after  a  short,  but  animated  con- 
flict, victory  again  ranged  herself  under  tlie  Bri- 
tish  banners.     The   surrender  of  general  Wads- 
worth,  with  a  force  of  nine  hundred  men,  to  an 
army  inferior  in  numbers,  is  the  best  eulogium 
that  can  be  pronounced  upon  the  plan  of  attack 
adopted  by  major-general    Sheaffe,  and  upon  tli« 
zeal  and  undaunted  gallantry  that  animated  every 
officer  and  soldier  in  his  army.     The  loss  of  the 
British  army  in  the  battle  of  Queenstown,  although 
continued  for  upwards  of  eight  hours,  did  not  ex- 
ceed one  hundred  men  in  killed,  wounded  and  mis- 
sing; while  the  loss  of  the  Americans,  including 
deserters,  may,  without  exaggeration,  be  estimated 
at  two  thousand.  (8) 

The  other  operations  on  the  Canadian  frontier, 

and  upon  the  lakes  of  North  America,  during  the 

4)resent  year,  were  attended  by*  decisive  results, 

nor  are  they  of  sufficient  importance  to  claim  a 

place  in  general  history.    During  the  campaign  of 

•  Letter  from  general  Van  Rensselaer  to  general  Dearborn. 
<lated  Lewistown,  October  li,  1812. 


28 


* 

THE  ViriTED  STATES,  &C. 


181S,  the  American  armies  of  the  north-west  and 
the  centre,  under  Gens.  Hull  and  Van  Rensselatr, 
had  sustained  signal  defeats,  while  the  army  of  the 
north,  under  general  Dearborn,  had  suffered  the 
season  to  pass  in  comparative  inactivity.  The  avo- 
cations of  a  peaceful  industry,  continued  without 
intermission  for  nearly  thirty  years,  are  little  suit- 
^d  to  the  sanguinary  pursuits  of  war,  and  it  soon 
became  perfectly  manifest,  that  whatever  might  be 
the  native  courage  of  the  Americans,  their  generals 
were  destitute  of  experience,  and  the  officers  and 
soldiers  required  discipline   and   subordination.^ 
As  might  have   been  expected,  all  the  efforts  of 
such  armies  to  conquer  the  dominions  of  his  Bri- 
tannic  majesty  in  Canada,  and  the  tendency  of  al 
the  belligerent  operations  which  had  hitherto  taken 
place  on  the  frontier,  served  only  to  inspire  the 
British  with  increased  confidence,  and  to  involve 
the  enemy  in  disaster  and  disappointment. 

•  At  the  crisis  of  the  battle  of  Queenstown  a  large  proportion 
of  the  militia  force  answered  the  orders  of  their  general  by 
claiming  the  privileges  of  the  constitution;  and  peremptorily 
refused  to  cross  the  imaginary  line  which  separated  the  United 
States  from  the  British  dominions,  alleging  that  by  the  laws  of 
their  country  they  were  required  only  to  serve  within  the  limits 
or  the  Union! 


*- 


©itA  warn  m, 


The  loss  and  dis.eTace  incurred  by  the  surrender 
of  the  American  generals,   and  the  defeat  of  their 
armies,  were  considered  only  as  the  harbingers  of 
their  further  humiliation  on  that  element  which  had 
long  been  the  tlieatre  of  their  adversary's  triumphs. 
In  the  vaunting  language  of  the  day,  the  govern' 
ment  and  the  people  of  the  United  States  were  to 
be  humbled  and  brought  to  a  sense  of  their  own  in- 
significance  by  the  blockade  of  their  coasts,  the 
bombardment  of  their  cities,  and  the  destruction 
of  their   commerce.      The  commanders   of  their 
^pigmy  navy,'  it  was  triumphantly  and  tauntingly 
said,  would  instantly  fly  from  a  force  equal  to  their 
own;  and  the  day  was  anxiously,  but  confidently 
anticipated,  when  an  American  and  a  British  fri- 
gate  should  meet  on  the  ocean. 

At  length  the  British  and  American  seamen  bad 
an  opportunity  of  displaying  their  skill  and  brave- 
ry.  The  ships  which  met  on  the  19th  of  August, 
off  the  coast  of  Labrador,  were  the  Guerriere' 
captain  Dacres;  and  the  Constitution,  captain 
Hull;  the  former  rated  at  tfiirty-eight  guns,  but 
mounted  forty-nine;  and  tlie  latter  rated  at  forty- 
four  guns,  but  mounted  fifty-six.  At  two  oVInrk 
in  the  afternoon,  the  Constitution  bore  down  upnn 
the  Guerriere,  and  at  five  the  frigates  come  to  clo .e 


■■■■     'fl 

iU 

HI 

•  5 » 

■ 

■J 

,fi 

30 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


action.     After  an  exchange  of  broadsides,  the  Con- 
stitution placed  herself  within  pistol  shot  of  her 
antagonist,  when  captain  Hull  ordered  a  brisk  fire 
to  commence  from  all  her  guns,  which  were  double, 
shotted,  and  so  well  directed,  that  in  fifteen  minutes 
the  mizen-mast  of  the  Guerricre  went  by  the  board. 
The  enemy  then  placed  herself  in  a  situation  to 
rake  the  British  frigate,   and  his  grape  shot  and 
riflemen  swept  the  deck.     Captain  Dacres,  per- 
ceiving his  perilous  situation,  endeavoured  to  clear 
himself  of  his  opponent,  and  with  this  view  the. 
marines  and  boarders  were  ordered  from  the  main- 
deck,  but  no  sooner  were  these  orders  given,  than 
the  captaiii  received  a  violent  contusion  in  his  back, 
and  Mr.  Grant,  who  commanded  the  forecastle, 
was  carried  below  severely  wounded.     Tiie  battle 
had  now  raged  for  nearly  two  hours,  (9)  and  the 
fore  and  main-masts  of  the  Ouerricre  were  sliot 
away,  and  the  vessel,  thus  dismantled,  was  reduc- 
ed to  a  mere  unmanageable  hulk.     The  wreck  was 
no  sooner  cleared  than  the  sprit-sail  gave  way; 
and  the  ship  rolled  so  deep  in  the  sea  that  her  main- 
deck  guns  were  under  water.     It  now  became  ob- 
vious that  all  further  resistance  must  prove  un- 
availing; and  captain  Dacres,  after  a  siiort  con- 
sultation with  his  few  remaining  officers,  deter- 
mined to  spare  the  lives  of  his  valuable  crew  by 
hauling    down  his 'colours,    which .  necessity  had 
obliged  him  to  lash  to  the  stump  of  the  niizcn-masf. 
The  hull  of  the  Guerrierc  was  so  mucli  shattered 
that  a  few  more  hrniidsirlpc  wmilfl  \,ava  a...^^  i.»..  4-^ 

--  -     — -r     "  i.-Mait    xsiiTv   ai.iiv    j;2i;i     nj 

the  bottom.     Fifteen  of  her  crew  were  killed,  and 


AW D  GREAT  BHITAIIT. 


dl 


sixty-three  wounded,  among  the  former  of  whom 
was  lieutenant  Read,  and  among  the  latter  all  the 
principal  officers  in  the  ship.  The  loss  of  the  Con- 
stitution amounted  only  to  seven  killed,  and  seven 
wounded.*    Not  the  least  imputation  rested  on  the 
British  commander  or  his  ship's  company.    They 
fought  with  a  heroism  deserving  of  a  better  fate; 
and  yielded  only  to  unavoidable  casualties,  and  to' 
the  irresistible  superiority  of  physical  strength.    It 
was  soon  discovered  that  the  Guerriere  was  so 
much  injured  that  all  attempts  to  tow  her  into  port 
would  be  unavailing;  and    captain   Hull,    having 
previously  ordered  all  tlie  prisoners  to  be  brought 
on  board  his  own  ship,  consigned  his  prize  to  the 
flames.     The  conduct  of  the  Americans  towards 
their  prisoners  was  that  of  the  brave  towards  the 
brave.  The  wounded  were  treated  with  every  mark 
of  care  and  attention;  and  the  lacerated  feelings  of 
the  British  sailors  were  soothed  by  the  sympathy 
of  their  generous  adversaries,  who  now  considered 
them  rather  as  their  guests  than  as  their  enemies. 
It  is  impossible,  adequately,  to  describe  the  tri- 
umph  of  the  Americans  on  the  occasion  of  this  their 
first  naval  victory—a  victory  achieved  over  the 
lords  of  the  ocean— over  those  who  till  now  had 
claimed  that  element  as  their  own^  and  had  driven 
from  it  all  who  dared  in  dispute  their  maritime 
rights  and  dominion.     The  captain  and  the  crew  of 
the  Constitution,  when  they  landed  at  Boston,  were 
received  by  their  grateful  fellow-citizens  with  every 

•  American  account.— Captain  Dacres  states  the  loss  of  the 
enemy  at  nine  killed,  and  twelve  wounded. 


32 


THE  UNITBD  STATES 


mark  of  honour  and  distinction.    A  splendid  enter- 
tainment was  given  to  captain  Hull  and  his  offi- 
cers^ and  in  all  the  principal  towns  through  which 
he  passed,  after  his  return,  the  war  became  more 
popular,  and  the,  spirit  of  marine  enterprise  more 
animated   and  enthusiastic.      The  legislature   of 
3Vew-York,  the  council  of  the  cities  of  Albany  and 
Savannah,  the  house  of  representatives  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  the  congress  of  the  United  States, 
voted  their  unanimous  thanks  (10)  to  the  captain 
of  the  Constitution  and  his  officers  and  crew,-  and 
as  a  further  testimony  of  the  estimation  in  which 
their  services  were  held,  congress  voted  the  sum  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars  to  Capt.  Hull  and  his  ci-ew,  as 
an  indemnification  for  the  loss  they  had  sustained 
by  the  destruction  of  their  prize  after  the  battle. 
In  England  the  capture  of  the  Guerriere  created 
astonishment  not  unmixed  with  dismay.    By  many 
captain  Dacres  was  censured  for  not  having  gone 
to  the  bottom  yyiVu  iiS  Sliip  instead  ot  striking  his 
colours,  as  if  the  humiliation  of  the  country  would 
have  been  lessened  by  such  a  prodigal  and  unavail- 
ing ejcpenditure  of  the  lives  of  the  most  gallant  of 
her  sons.      Others,  though  they  deeply  lamented 
tlie  occurrence,  did  not  regard  it  as  a  disgrace  to 
British  valour,  when  the  relative  force  of  the  con- 
flicting  frigates  was  fairly  taken  into  consideration. 
The  Constitution  was  the  superior  of  the  Guerriere 
in  every  respect;  she  was  a  larger  vessel;  better 
prepared  both  for  sailing  and  for  action;  her  guns, 
as  has  been  already  seen,  were  more  numero^js  in 
the  proportion  of  fifty-six  to  forty-nine;  her  weight 


AND  GREAT  BRITAIDT. 


is 


of  metal  gave  her  a  still  fui-ther  advantage,-  and 
while  her  number  of  men  amounted  to  four  hundred 
and  seventy-aix,  the  Guerrlere,  on  coming  into  ac- 
tion,  could  only  muster  at  quarters  two  hundred 
and  forty-four  men,  and  nineteen  boys.     Still,  with 
all  tiiese  advantages,  had  she  been  a  French  frigate, 
she  probably  would  have  been  captured,  and  as- 
suredly she  would  not  have  captured  her  antago- 
nist.    Of  this  both  nations  were  sensible;  so  that 
the  result  of  the  action  decisively  proved,  not  that 
the  Americans  were  our  masters,  but  that  they  were 
more  nearly  on  a  level  with  us  on  our  own  element 
than  any  European  enemy. 

The  balance  of  success  in  the  naval  war  continu- 
ed to  preponderate  on  the  side  of  the  Americans^ 
and  the  fate  of  the  Guerriere  proved,  unfortunate- 
ly, not  a  solitary  case.     Besides  the  numerous  cap- 
tures made  by  their  privateers,  actions  took  place 
between  ships  of  war,  which  tended  to  establish 
their  claims  to  rank  with  the  British,  and  to  aug- 
ment the  confidence  already  inspired  by  the  success 
of  their  maritime  tactics.     On  the  18th  of  October, 
his  majesty's  armed  brig  the  Frolic,  captain  Thom- 
as Whinyates,  convoying  six  valuable  merchant- 
ships  from  Honduras  to  P:ngland,  while  in  the  act 
of  repairing  damages  to  her  masts  and  sails,  re- 
ceived  in  a  violent  gale  on  the  preceding  night,  des- 
cried an  American  brig,  which  gave  chase  to  the 
convoy.     At  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  this 
vessel,  which  proved  to  be  the  Wasp,  captain  Jacob 

JrknAC!  Kama     A^mm-r-^ ~ XI.   -        -M^  .•      •  •        .  . 

"•"■''  ""»«wuwii  u|iuii  ine  rroiiCK,  and  the  two 
brigs  came  to  close  action,  off  the  island  of  Bermu- 

C   2 


d4 


THE  UWITBD  STATES 


da.  The  superior  fire  of  the  British  g\\t\s  gave 
every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  contest  would 
speedily  terminate  in  their  favour.  This  expecta- 
tion was  favoured  hy  the  main-top-mast  of  the  Wasp 
being  shot  away  in  a  few  minutes  after  the  battle 
commenced,  and  falling  with  the  main-top-sail-yard 
across  the  fore-top-sail-braces,  her  head  became 
unmanageable  during  the  rest  of  the  action.  To 
counteract  the  effects  of  this  disaster,  the  Ameri- 
cans shot  ahead  of  the  Frolic,  raked  her,  and  then 
resumed  her  position  on  the  larboard  bow.  The 
fire  of  the  Wasp  was  now  obviously  attended  with 
great  success,  and  the  braces  of  the  Frolic  being 
shot  away,  she  became  unmanageable.  After  lay- 
ing sometime  exposed  to  a  most  destructive  fire, 
which  she  was  unable  to  return,  the  enemy  board- 
ed, and  hauled  down  the  British  ensign,  in  forty- 
three  minutes  after  the  discharge  of  the  first  shot. 
On  passing  from  the  bowsprit  to  the  forecastle,  the 
Americans  were  surprised  to  see  not  a  single  man 
alive  on  the  deck  of  the  Frolic,  except  the  seaman 
at  the  wheel,  and  three  officers;  and  of  the  whole 
crew,  consisting  originally  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
men,  all,  except  twenty,  were  numbered  among 
either  the  killed  or  the  wounded.  The  Frolic,  it 
appears,  mounted  sixteen  thirty-two  pounders,  four 
twelv©  pounders  on  the  main-deck,  and  two  twelve 
pound  carronades;  while  the  Wasp  mounted  only 
sixteen  thirty-two  pounders,  and  two  twelve  pound 
carronades;  the  superiority  in  number  of  cannon 

■vtroa  'fKAviAlVnA   An  4-Ua    niAr^  ^e  4-u^     n_:i.:_u      __.i  xi._ 

number  of  men  was  nearly  equals  but  the  violent 


AND  OUBAT   BRITAIN. 


3d 


the  violent 


storm  of  the  preceding  <lay  liad  crippled  the  Frol- 
ic, and  it  is  to  this  cause  that  captain  Whinyatcs,  in 
his  official  letter  to  sir  John  BorliLse  Warren,  the 
admiral  of  the  station,  attributes  the  disastrous  re- 
sult. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  his  majesty's 
ship  Poictiers,  of  seventy-four  guns,  commanded 
by  captain  sir  John  Beresford,  hove  in  sight,  and 
after  re-capturing  the  Frolic,  and  making  a  prize 
of  the  Wasp,  carried  both  the  rival  brigs  into  Ber- 
muda. On  the  return  of  captain  Jones  to  the  Uni- 
ted States,  he  was  every  where  received  with  de- 
monstrations of  gratitude  and  admiration.  The 
legislature  of  Delaware  appointed  a  committee  to 
wait  upon  him  with  their  thanks,  and  to  express 
the  pride  and  pleasure  they  felt  in  recognizing  him 
as  a  native  of  their  state;  the  congress  of  the  United 
States  passed  an  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  (11)  to 
the  captain,  his  officers,  and  his  crew,  for  their 
distinguished  gallantry  aud  success,  accompanying 
their  vote  by  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  as  a  com- 
pensation for  the  loss  they  had  sustained  by  the  re- 
capture of  the  Frolic;  and  as  a  still  more  substan- 
tial testimony  of  approbation,  the  captain  was  im- 
mediately appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Mace- 
donian frigate. 

Other  naval  triumphs  yet  awaited  the  Americans; 
and  the  complaints  of  the  British  nation  respecting 
the  mode  in  which  this  war  was  conducted  were 
augmented  by  the  intelligence  of  the  capture  of  an- 
Gi:s€r  iFsgate,  under  circumstances  very  similar  to 
those  which  took  place  on  the  capture  of  the  Guer>- 


96 


TUB  VHITEO  8TATE> 


rici-c.     Early  in  the  morning  of  the  25<li  of  Octo- 
ber,  the  Macedonian  fi-igate,  captain  Jolin  Siirman  , 
Garden,  being  in  latitude  29  N.  29  deg.  SO  min.  W. 
descried  a  ship,  which  proved  to  be  a  frigate  of  the 
.first  class,  under  American  colours,  commanded  by 
captain  Decatur.    At  nine  o'clocic  in  the  morning 
the  vessels  were  brought  into  action,  and  the  Ma- 
cedonian being  to  windward,  had  the  advantage  of 
engaging  at  her  own  distance.     After  the  battle 
bad  raged  about  half  an  hour,  captain  Garden  came 
to  dose  quarters.     In  this  situation  it  was  soon  dis- 
covered that  the  superior  force  of  the  enemy  was. 
If  possible,  more  advantageous  to  him  than  it  had 
been  before,  and  the  only  hopes  of  the  British  com- 
mander  rested   upon  some  fortunate  occurrence, 
which  might  turn  the  engagement  in  his  favour,  or 
at  least  afford  him  an  opportunity  of  escape.    With 
this  hope,  the  battle  was  continued  for  upwards  of 
two  hours,  and  until  the  British  frigate  became  a 
"perfect  wreck-an   unmanageable   log."       The 
mizcn-mast  was  shot  away  by  the  board,  the  top. 
mast  carried  off  by  the  caps,  the  main-yard  shiv- 
ered ,n  pieces,  and  the  rigging  completely  destroy, 
cd;  all  the  guns  on  the  quarter  deck,  and  forecas- 
tie  were  disabled  and  filled  with  wreck  except  two- 
several  shot  had  struck  the  vessel  between  wind 
and  water;  a  large  proportion  of  the  crew  were 
killed  or  woundedj  and  the  enemy,  who  was  com- 
paratively in  good  order,  was  preparing  to  place 
herself  m  a  raking  position.    In  this  disastrous  sit- 
nation  captain  Garden  was  redii<.«,l  t„  ti,.  „„!_i-..t 
extremity  of  surrendering  his  majesty's  ship.   Eve- 


AND  GRE^T  BRITAIIT.  ^ 

ty  effort  that  gallantry  and  skill  could  effect  had  been 
put  forth,  and  no  other  alternative  remained.  To 
have  continued  the  action  longer  would  have  been 
a  wanton  sacrifice  of  the  lives  of  his  brave  crew; 
the  Macedonian  could  no  longer  fight,  and  had  be- 
come  a  mere  target  to  receive  the  enemy's  fire. 

The  noble  and  animating  conduct  of  the  brave 
crew  of  the   Macedonian  rendered   them  dear  to 
their  country  even  in  misfortune.     The  first  lieu- 
tenant, Hope,  was  severely  wounded  in  the  head 
towards  the  close  of  the  action,  and  carried  below, 
but  no  persuasion  of  his  fellow-sufferers,  nor  any 
representation  uf  the  dangerous  nature  of  the  wound, 
could  keep  him  from  his  post;  after  a  slight  dress- 
ing had  been  applied  to  his  wound,  he  again  rushed 
upon  deck,  and  displayed,  says  his  captain,  that 
greatness  of  mind,  and  those  persevering  exertions, 
which  may  be  equalled,  but  never  can  be  excelled. 
The  loss  or  t;,e  Si-itlsli  ;;'«S  ^^  severe^  thirty-six 
men  were  killed,  and  the  same  number  severely 
wounded,  many  of  them  without  hopes  of  recovery, 
in  addition  to  which  thirty-two  were  slightly  wound- 
ed,  constituting  an    aggregate  number  exceeding 
one-third  part  of  the  whole  crew.     The  masts,  hull, 
and  rigging  of  the  American  frigate  had  suffered 
considerably,  but  not  at  all  in  comparison  with  the 
Macedonian,  and  her  loss  in  killed  and  wounded 
amounted  to  only  five  of  the  former,  and  seven  of 
the  latter. 

The  Macedonian  was  one  of  the  finest  frigates 
in  the  British  navy;  inferior,  indeed,  in  size  and 
weight  of  metal,  to  the  Endymion,  and  the  Cam- 


38 


ll 

#  ■ 

1 


1^ 

ittjl   ' 

wt 

li 

THE  UNITED  STATES 


brian,  but  superior  to  tliein  in  every  other  particu- 
lar   Though  rated  at  only  thirty-eight,  she  mount- 
C(l  forty-nine  guns,  and  had  not  been  more  than  two 
years  off  tlie  stocks.     Her  adversary,  the  United 
btates,  like  the  President  and  Constitution  frigates, 
was  built  with  the  scantling  of  a  seventy-four  gun 
ship,  mounted  thirty-two  long  twenty-four  pound- 
ers    and  twenty-two  forty-two  pound  carronades, 
with  howitzer  guns  on  her  tops,  and  a  travelling 
carronade   in  her  under  deck.      The  seamen   of 
their  frigates  form  the  elitq  of  tlie  American  navy, 
and  such  is  the  combined  power  of  space  and  air 
between  the  decks,  that  those  of  the  first  class  can 
accommodate  fire  hundred  men,  and  the  United 
States  had  on  board  at  the  time  of  the  action  four 
hundred   and   seventy  eight.      These    details   are 
drawn   principally   from    Captain   Carden's   dis- 
patcbesi  but  it  is  proper  to  state  that  the  Ameri 
cans  assert  that  their  carronades  are  not  forty-two 
but  thirty-two  pounders;  and  the  following  compa- 
rison between  the  United  States  and  the  Macedo- 
nian frigate  is  drawn  from  their  naval  records--^ 

United  States— Length  of  deck-176   feet; 

"  «         Breadth  of  beam-  48    «   '  Burthen,  1.405  tons. 

Macedoman        Length  of  deck-166     «« 

«Fnl  °;^,f  j^o^'b-^-  ^H  «      Burthen,  1,325  tons. 

"Each  vessel/'  they  add,  **has  fifteen  ports  on 
each  side  on  the  main  deck;  the  United  States 
carries  twenty-four,  and  the  Macedonian  eighteen 
pounders  thereon;  the  carronades  of  each  on  the 
quarter-deck  and  fore-castle  are  of  the  litP.niJh... 
and  the  only  further  difference  is,  that  the  United 
States  had  five  more  of  them." 


AKD  GBBAT  BBITAI^T.  39 

The  mere  superiority  of  force  on  the  part  of  the 
Americans  will  not  fully  account  for  all  the  cir 
cumstances  of  the  capture  of  the  Macedonian.- 
The  United  States  frigate  seems  to  have  been  ma- 
noeuvred and  fought  with  a  high  degree  of  skill, 
as  well  as  bravery;  in  all  engagements  between 
Enghsh  and  Fi-ench  ships,  where  the  latter  were 
superior  ,„  force  to  the  former,  the  success  of  the 
tnghsh  depended  as  much  upon  the  display  and 
cxcrc.se  of  skill  and  seamanship  as  on  superior 
hravery    and  these  advantages  generally  decided 
the  contest  u.  a  short  time  after  ils  commencement. 
But  .„  the  action  now  under  consideration,  as  well 
as  in  that  between  the  Guerriere  and  Constitution, 
the  seamanship  displayed  by  the  Americans  was  at 
least  equal  to  that  exhibited  by  the  British;  and 
when  to  this  is  added  the  disparity  of  force  between 

satisfactorily  accounted  for.  With  France.  Spain. 
«••  any  of  the  European  powers,  the  superiority  of 
force  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  has  seldom  stood  in 
t»c  way  of.vict,.,-y,  but  in  engagements  with  Ame- 
rican vessels  it  was  found  that  nothing  short  of  an 
equality  of  force  could  secure  and  mafntain  the  re- 
nown of  ,he  British  navy.  The  reception  of  cap- 
tain Garden  on  board  the  United  States  was  truly 
characteristic-on  presenting  his  sword  to  captaii. 

coi::;  fr  f  ";"*  ^"''"''"  "'•^"-'''  »••«* "« 

«ho  had  that  day  proved  that  he  knew  so  well  how 
^<'  use  It;  hut  instead  of  taking  his  sword  he  should 
he  happy  to  take  him  by  the  hand.     The  congress 


I 


t  I 


i 


I 


4& 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


of  tlic  tfnited  States,  and  other  public  bodies,  emu- 
lated each  other  in  awarding  manifestations  of  pub- 
lic esteem  to  captain  Decatur  and  his  crew,  and 
the  spirit  of  naval  enterprise  was  cherished  and 
inflamed  by  the  honours  and  distinctions  showered 
down  by  a  grateful  country  on  the  heads  of  her 
heroic  defenders. 

The  naval  campaign  of  the  present  year  was 
closed  by  another  American  victory.     On  the  29th 
of  December,  the  Java  frigate,  captain  Lambert, 
being  off  the  coast  of  Brazil,  on  her  passage  to  the 
East  Indies,  perceived  a  strange  sail,  which  was 
soon  found  to  be  the  American  frigate  the  Consti- 
tution,  noV   under  the   command  of  commodore 
William  Bainbridge.     After  some  time   spent  in 
nautical  manoeuvres,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
advantageous  positions,  the  two  frigates  came  into 
action  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  the 
fire  of  the  Americans  was  directed  with  so  much 
skill  and  precision  against  the  masts  and  rigging 
of  the  Java,  as  to  carry  away  the  bo.\'.sprit  and  the 
jib-boom,  and  to  disable  her  from  preserving  the 
weather  gage.     The  contest  having  raged  for  up- 
wards of  an  hour  much  to  the  disadvantage  of  the 
British,  captain  Lambert  endeavoured  to  extricate 
himself  from  the  raking  fire  of  the  enemy  by  or- 
dering his  ship  to  be  laid  on  board;  but  at  this 
critical  moment,  when   the  disasters   of  the  day 
might  have  been  retrieved,  his  I'oremast  was  shot 
away,   and  the  main-top-mast  went  over  board, 
leaving  the  ship  totally   unmanaffeahle.   and    the. 
principal  part  of  her  starboard  guns  rendered  use- 


AND  OBEAT  BBITAIA. 


U 


less  by  tlic  wreck  under  which  they  were  buried. 
To  aggravate  the  misfortunes  of  the  Java,  her  gal- 
lant  captain,  who  had  hitherto  directed  and  ani- 
mated the  crew  by  his  skill  and  valour,  received  a 
dangerous  wound  in  his  breast,  and  was  obliged  to 
quit  his  station.    The  command,  in  consequence  of 
this  event,  devolved  on  lieutenant  Chads,  who  dis- 
charged  his  arduous  duty  in  a  manner  worthy  of 
his  commander.    Bat  it  was  too  clear  that  all  the 
efforts  made  to  prevent  the  British  frigate  from 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans  would  be 
unavailing.    Her  guns  were  so  much  covered  that 
not  more  than  two  or  three  of  them  could  be  firedj 
while  the  enemy,  comparatively  little  disabled  either 
for  mancEuvring  or  fighting,  and  fully  sensible  of 
the  crippled  state  of  the  Java,  continued  to  pour 
into  her  hull  a  destructive  and  welLdired^ed  fire. 
At  five  minutes  past  four  o'clock,  the  Java's  fire 
being  completely  silenced,  and  her  colours  no  longer 
visible,  commodore  Bainbridge  concluded  that  she 
had  struck,  and  shot  a-head  to  repair  his  rig-ging- 
but  while  engaged  in  this  service,  it  was  discovered 
tha  the  British  colours  still  waved  from  the  stump 
of  the  mizen-mast.     Tliis  discovery  was  no  sooner 
made  than  the  Constitution  bore  down  again  upon 
her;  and,  having  got  close  under  her  bows,  w-s 
preparing  to  rake  her  with  a  broadside;  when  lieiT* 
tenant  Chads,  feeling  that  he  could  not  be  ju  t  fi  | 
in  squandering  the  blood  of  his  crew  in  a  roslT 
ance  now  become  so  utterly  hopeless,  surrendered 

n.,    "    "  -— *-«i- i^iuucance  into  the  hands 

of  the  enemy.  " 

D 


^s 


THB  riflTRII  ITATEi 


It  wan  noon  percolvcMl  that  the  crow  of  the  Java 
liad  fought  tlieii*  Nliip  witli  ho  much  gallHiitryi  that 
alio  was  not  in  a  condition  to  ho  pi'OMorved  u«  a 
trophy  of  American  victory;  and  commodore  Bain- 
bridge,  having  removed  her  crew  and  Htoreii  with 
all  tho  expedition  tliat  liis  nlenuer  means  would  af- 
ford»  ordered  lier  to  ho  nestroyed.  Tiie  Ions  on 
both  Hides  was  very  greati  hut  that  of  the  Java* 
from  the  circumstancoi  of  tlic  f  ngagement,  was  the 
most  severe.  Captain  Lambert  survived  the  loss 
of  his  ship  only  six  days;  and  hy  the  returns  made 
to  tho  admiralty  by  lieutenant  CliadSf  it  appeared 
that  twenty-two  of  his  crew  were  killed»  and  one 
hundred  and  two  wounded.  On  the  same  autliority 
it  is  stated,  tliat  tlie  Constitution  had  ten  men  kill- 
ed, and  forty-six  wounded;  hut  tlie  American  ac- 
counts reduce  their  own  loss  to  nine  killed,  and 
twenty-ftve  wounded,  among  the  latter  of  whom 
was  tlio  commodore  himself.  Tho  disparity  of 
force  between  the  Java  and  tho  Constitution  was 
nearly  tho  samo  as  between  tlio  Constitution  and 
the  Gucrriore;  and  it  is  to  this  cause,  no  douht, 
that  tho  success  of  tho  Americans  is  principally  to 
be  attributed. 

Those  who  regarded  these  repeated  navnl  tri- 
umphs of  tho  enemy  with  tlio  most  gloomy  and 
||1esponding  apprehensions,  predicted  from  them  the 
%tter  annihilation,  in  the  breasts  of  our  seamen,  of 
that  proud  confidence  which  had  hithoKo  heen  so 
eminently  serviceable  in  leading  them  on  to  victory: 
hut  morn  gnnflrijifie  Dolitlcians  drew  an  nnnoRif  a  iii= 

ference,  and  maintained  that  British  seamen,  In- 


▲no  OllIiAT   BHITAIlf. 


4S 


stiiHtl  of  being  diHCcmraged  by  iliHaster,  would  bo 
Mtimulatcd  to  fresh  exertion,  and  would  anxiously 
await  the  moment  that  HJiould  preHent  the  oppor- 
tunlty  to  wipe  off  the  Mtaln  cant  upon  their  laurelii 
that  in  future  they  would  go  into  battle  with 
American  Mhipn,  certainly  with  a  more  just  and 
better  regulated  estimate  of  the  skill  and  bravery 
to  which  they  were  opposed,  and  at  tlie  same  time, 
with  a  more  fixed  and  glowing  determination  that 
the  sceptre  of  the  ocean  should  not  be  wrested 
from  their  grasp— and  happily  for  the  country 
such  was  the  fact. 


■»wn«/» 


nTi/\aiTA    iM- 


eamcn,  in- 


•iQwn 


©HAiramm  it, 


XlvRiM-Q  the  interval  between  the  breaking  out  of 
the  war  and  the  close  of  the  year  1812,  the  elec- 
tions took  place,  and  the  federal  party,  in  common 
with  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  cherished  the 
expectation  that  the  power  and  influence  of  Mr. 
Madison,  and  the  war  party  in  America,  were 
nearly  at  an  end.  It  was  supposed  that  the  dis- 
graceful and  disastrous  issue  of  the  campaign  in 
Canada,  which  was  imputed  to  the  ignorance  and 
neglect  of  government,  would  shake  the  stability 
of  his  powers  but  this  expectation,  like  many  of 
the  other  conjectures  formed  in  this  country,  with- 
out adequate  local  knowledge,  and  without  a  clear 
view  of  the  character  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  proved  altogether  fallacious.  The  disas- 
ters in  Canada,  instead  of  rendei  ng  the  war  more 
generally  and  decidedly  unpopular,  changed  the 
dislike  which  had  been  entertained  for  it  in  the 
northern  states  into  a  determination  to  prosecute 
the  contest  with  increased  vigour.  The  honour  of 
the  country,  it  was  conceived,  was  now  interested; 
and  it  was  held  to  be  the  incumbent  duty  of  all  not 
to  sue  for  peace  in  the  moment  of  defeat.  Even 
those  who  condemned  the  war  at  its  commencement, 
anu  Wao  passed  reaolutions  fure telling  the  disasters 

that  would  follow  in  its  train,  now  that  those  dis- 
D  2 


46 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


asters,  or  others  equally  severe,  had  occurred,  he- 
came  eager  for  the  prosecution  of  hostilities.  From 
this  wayward  disposition  on  the  part  of  some,  from 
the  exultation  of  others  in  the  triumphs  which 
America  had  obtained  at  sea,  and  from  other  causes 
not  so  easily  ascertainable,  the  democratic  interest 
was  strengthened,  and  on  the  2d  of  December,  the 
re-election  of  Mr.  Madison  was  secured. 

No  sooner  had  the  American  government  de- 
clared war  against  Great  Britain,  than  Mr.  Mon- 
roe, the  secretary  of  state,  addressing  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Russell,  the  charge  des  affaires  at  the  court  of 
St.  James,  dated  the  20th  of  June,  stating  that 
the  war  had  been  resorted  to  from  necessity,  and 
of  course  with  reluctance,  and  commissioning  him 
to  apprise  the  British  government,  that  the  govern- 
ment of  America  looked  forward  to  the  restoration 
of  peace  with  much  interest,  and  a  sincere  desire 
to  promote  that  blessing  on  conditions  just,  equal, 
and  honourable  to  both  parties;  that  it  was  in  the 
power  of  Great  Britain  to  terminate  the  war  upon 
such  conditions;  and  that  it  would  he  highly  satis- 
factory te  the  president  of  tlie  United  States  to 
concur  in  any  arrangement  to  that  effect.  The 
causes  of  complaint  against  the  British  govern- 
ment were  represented  as  numerous  and  weighty; 
but  the  orders  in  council,  and  other  blockades, 
were  considered  of  the  highest  importance;  and 
Mr.  Russell  was  authorized  to  negotiate  an  armis- 
tice by  sea  and  land,  on  the  conditions  that  the  or- 
ders in  council  should  be  repealed — ^the  impress- 
ment of  American  seamen  discontinued — and  those 


AND  OREA.T  BRITAIN. 


47 


already  impressed  restored;  and  as  an  inducement 
to  tlie  British  government  to  discontinue  their 
practice  of  impressment,  Mr.  Russell  was  further 
instructed,  to  give  a  positive  assurance  that  a  law 
would  be  passed,  to  be  reciprocal,  to  prohibit  the 
employment  of  British  seamen  in  the  public  or 
commercial  service  of  the  United  States.  On  the 
arrival  of  these  instructions,  Mr.  Russell  hastened 
to  execute  the  important  duties  which  now  devolved 
upon  him;  and  on  the  gist  of  August,  he  addressed 
a  letter  to  lord  Castlereagh,  proposing  an  armis- 
tice,  upon  the  terms  specified  in  the  above  instruc- 
tions; assuring  his  lordship  at  the  same  time,  that 
the  proposed  arrangement  fot*  prohibiting  the  em- 
ployment of  British  seamen,  would  prove  more 
efficacious  in  securing  to  Great  Britain  her  sub- 
jects  than  the  practice  of  impressment,  so  deroga^ 
tory  to  the  sovereign  attributes  of  the  United  States, 
and  so  incompatible  with  the  personal  rights  of  hep 
citizens. 

Lord  Castlereagh,  in  his  answer  to  this  dispatch, 
bearing  date  the  29th  of  the  same  month,  informed 
the  American  ambassador,  that  the  prince  regent 
felt  himself  under  the  necessity  of  declining  to  ac- 
cede to  the  propositions  contained  in  his  letter  of 
the  24th  instant,  as  being  on  various  grounds  ab- 
solutely inadmissable.  In  making  this  communi- 
cation, his  lordship  announced  that  measures  had 
already  been  taken  to  authorize  the  British  admi- 
ral on  the  American  station  to  propose  to  the 
United  States  an  immediate  and  reciprocal  revoca- 
tion of  all  hostile  orders,  with  the  tender  of  giving 


48 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


full  effect,  in  the  event  of  hostilities  being  discon- 
tinued, to  the  provisions  of  the  edict  for  repealing 
the  orders  in  council,  upon  conditions  therein  spe- 
cified.    On  the  proposition  submitted  by  Mr.  Rus- 
sell, relating  to  impressment,  his  lordship  observ- 
ed^ that  he  could  not  refrain  frqm  expressing  his 
surprise,  that  the  government  of  the  United  States 
should  have  thought  fit  to  demand  that  the  British 
government  should  desist  from  its  ancient  and  ac- 
customed practice  of  impressing  British  seamen 
from  the  merchant  ships  of  a  foreign  state,  prelimi- 
nary even  to  the  suspension  of  hostilities,  and  sim- 
ply on  the  assurance  that  a  law  should  hereafter 
be  passed  to  prohibit  the  employment  of  British 
seamen  in  the  public  or  commercial  service  of  that 
state.    His  lordship  further  remarked,  that  the 
"British  government  now,  as  heretofore,  was  ready 
to   receive   from   the  government   of  the   United 
States,  and  amicably  to  discuss  any  proposition 
which  professed  to  have  in  view,  either  to  check 
abuse  in  the  practice  of  impressment,  or  to  accom- 
plish, by  means  less  liable  to  vexation,  the  object 
for  which  impressment  had  hitherto  been  found 
necessary;  but  they  could  not  consent  to  suspend 
the   exercise   of  a  right,   upon  which  the   naval 
strength  of  the  empire  mainly  depends,  until  they 
were  fully  convinced  thi;';  means  could  be  devised, 
and  would  be  adopted,  by  which  the  object  to  be 
attained  by  the  exercise  of  that  right  could  be  effec- 
tually secured." 

On    thft    rpr'*»in+  nf   \n-r.A   /^«.«i.l^— !.•_    i-xx _. 

nouncing  the  determination  of  the  prince  regent 


AlTD  GSEi.T  BRITAIir. 


49 


not  to  accede  to  the  proposition  for  a  suspension  of 
hostilities  on  the  conditions  proposed  in  Mr.  Rus- 
scirs  note  of  the  Slst  of  August,  the  American 
ambassador  signified  to  the  British  government  bis 
intention  to  embark  immediately,  in  the  shi^  Lark, 
for  the  United  States;  and  on  the  following  day  an 
admiralty  order  for  the  protection  of  that  vessel, 
as  a  cartel  on  her  way  to  America,  with  the  requi- 
site passports  for  his  free  embarkation,  were  trans- 
mitted to  Mr.  Russell  from  the  office  of  the  secre- 
tary of  state. 

While  this  diplomatic  correspondence  was  pass- 
ing in  England*   a  negotiation  contemplating  a 
similar  object  was  commenced  in  America.     On 
the  30th  of  September^  Sir  John  Borlase  Warren, 
the  British  admiral  on  the  Halifax  station,  address- 
ed a  lotto  to  Mr.  Monroe,  apprising  kim  of  the 
revocation  of  ike  orders  in  council,  and  infbming 
the  American  secretary  tiiat  be  had  the  connumib 
of  the  ptrhiee  regent  to  propose,  on  the  one  baiid^ 
*<that  the  government  of  the  United  States  shouM 
instantly  recall  their  letters  of  marq«e  and  repri- 
sal against  British  ships,  together  with  all  orders 
and  instructions  fiw  any  act  of  hostility  whatever 
against  the  territory  of  his  majesty,  or  the  persons 
or  property  of  his  subjects;'*  and  to  promise,  on 
the  otlier,  if  the  American  government  acquiesced 
in  the  preceding  proposition;   "that  instructions 
should  be  issued  to  all  the  officers  under  his  com- 
mand to  desist  from  corresponding  measures  of 
VtaV  agaiiisi,  liie  s^mps  and  property  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  he  would  transmit  without  delay 


5a 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


cwrrcsponding  inHtructions  to  ihe  several  parts  of 
the  worW  wher^  hostilities  might  have  been  com- 
meii.ced."  This  overture  was  subject  to  the  quali- 
fication, that  should  the  American  government  ac- 
cede to  the  proposal  for  terminating  hostilities,  the 
British  admiral  was  authorized  to  enter  into  an 
arrangement  with  the  United  States,  for  the  revo- 
cation of  the  laws  interdicting  the  commerce  and 
ships  of  war  of  Great  Britain  from  the  harbours 
and  waters  of  the  United  States;  and  was  accom- 
panied by  an  intimation  that,  in  defau't  of  such  re- 
vocation within  a  reasonable  period  to  be  agreed 
upon,  the  British  orders  in  council,  repealed  con- 
ditionally by  an  edict  of  the  23d  of  June  last,  would 
be  revived. 

In  reply  to  this  dispatch,  Mr.  Monroe,  in  a  letter 
dated  from  Washington,  the  seat  of  government^ 
on  the  2dd  of  October,  after  adverting  to  the  fail- 
ure of  Mr.  RusselPs  negotiations,  states  that,  «ex- 
l)erience  had  sufficiently  evinced  that  no  peace  be, 
tween  the  two  countries  could  be  durable  unless 
the  question  regarding  the  important  interest  of 
impressment  were  settled."  <*Tlie  claim  of  the 
British  government,"  says  the  American  secretary, 
*<is  to  take  from  the  merchant  vessels  of  other 
countries  British  subjects.  In  the  practice,  the 
commanders  of  British  ships  of  war  often  take 
from  the  merchant  vessels  of  the  United  States, 
American  citizens.  If  the  United  States  prohibit 
the  employment  of  British  subjects  in  their  service, 
and  inforce  the  prohibition  by  suitable  regnifttions 
aad  penalties,  the  motive  for  the  practices  takea 


'•p^ 


AND  GREAT  BBITAIIT. 


5i 


away.     It  is  in  this  mode  that  the  president  is  wil- 
ling to  accommodate  this  important  controversy 
with  the  British  government,  and  it  cannot  be  con- 
ceived on  what  ground  the  arrangement  can  be  re- 
fused."    «*He  is  willing  that  Great  Britain  shall 
be  secured  against  the  evils  of  which  she  complains^ 
but  he  seeks,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  should  be  protected  against  a 
practice,  which,  while  it  degrades  the  nation,  de- 
prives them  of  their  rights  as  freemen,  takes  them 
by  force  from  their  families  and  their  country  into 
a  foreign  service,  to  fight  the  battles  of  a  foreign 
power,   perhaps   against  their  own    kindred   and 
country."     A  suspension   of  the  practice  of  im- 
pressment Mr.  Monroe  considered  as  the  necessary 
consequence  of  an   armistice;    but   it  was    by  no 
means  intended  that  Great  Biitain  should  suspend 
immediately  the  exercise  of  a  right  on  the  mere 
assurance  of  the  American  gov«  rnment,  that  a  law 
would  be  afterwards  passed  to  prohibit  the  employ- 
ment of  British  seamen  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States.     All  that  was  meant,  as  the  supplementary 
instructions  sent  to  Mr.  Russell  on  the  27th  of  July, 
distinctly  explained;  was,  that  a  clear  and  distinct 
understanding  with  tiie  British  government  on  the 
subject  of  impressment,  comprising  in  it  the  dis- 
charge of  men  already  impressed,  should  take  place, 
but  it  was  not  held  necessary  that  the  several  points 
should  be  specially  provided  for  in  the  convention 
stipulating  the  armistice.     The  American  secreta- 
ry,  in  conclusion,  intimated,  that  if +!»*»  «..c».«^.„:«- 
«f  the  British  claim  to  impressment  during  the 


« 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


iP 


armistice,  interposed  any  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
[||  an  accommodation  of  the  existing  differences,  the^ 

( 1  could  br  no  objection  to  proceed  without  the  armis- 

tice to  an  immediate  discussion  and  arrangement 
of  an  article  on  that  subject.  ,.  ^ .. 

The  powers  invested  in  Sir  J.  B.  Warren  were 
not  sufficiently  extensive  to  allow  him  to  enter  on 
the  question  of  impressment,-  and  thus,  by  the  punc- 
tihous  tenacity  of  the  rival  states,  the  sword  was 
prevented  from  being  returned  to  the  scabbard. 

In  the  annual  exposition  submitted  by  the  presi- 
dent  of  tlie  United  States  to  the  senate  and  house 
of  representatives  assembled  in  congress  on  the  4th 
of  November,  the  message  adverted  to  the  negotia- 
tions  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  the 
progress  of  war  without  waiting  the  delays  of  a 
formal  and  final  pacification;  but  whUe  a  faint  ex- 
pectation  was  held  out  that  they  might  result  favor- 
ably,  Mr.  Madison   held  it  to  be  unwise  to  relax 
any  of  the  measures  of  government  on  that  pre- 
sumption.    The  expedition  into  the  Michigan  ter- 
ritory,  confided  to  the  command  of  general  Hull 
was  represented  as  a  measure  of  precaution  and 
forecast,  with  a  view,  in  the  first  instance,  to  its 
security,  and  in  the  event  of  a  war,  to  such  opera- 
tions in  Upper  Canada  as  would  intercept  the  hos- 
tile influence  of  Great  Britain  over  the  sa.a^es; 
obtain  the  command  of  the  lake  on  which  that  part 
of  Canada  borders;  and  maintain  co-operatinir  re- 
lations with  such  forces  as  might  be  most  conven. 
lently  employed  against  other  parts.     This  expedi- 
'^-^,  Uqu^  favoured  with  Uie  prospect  of  an  easy 


AWD  GREAT  BRITAlIf.  x      gg 

and  victorious  progress,  terminated  unfortunately, 
and  the  cause  of  these  painful  reverses  was  under 
the  investigation  of  a  military  tribunal,    A  dis- 
tinguishing  feature  of  the  operations  which  preced- 
ed and  followed  the  surrender  of  general  Hull  and 
his  army,  was  the  use  made  by  the  British  of  the 
raerciless  savages  under  their  influence,  i„  viola- 
tion  of  the  laws  c'  honourable  warfare-contrary 
to  the  benevolent  policy  of  the  United  States-and 
against  the  feelings  sacred  to  humanity.    The  mis 
fortune  at  Detroit  was  not  without  consoling  elTecfs; 
the  loss  of  an  important  post,  and  of  the  brave  men 
surrendered  with   it,  inspired  every  where  new 
ardour  and  devotion;  everj-  citizen  was  eager  to 

blood-thirsty  savages  let  loose  by  the  British  on 

rLr**Ji'''  '■■'"'"";'  ""*'  •"•'S»<>ier-eencral  Har- 
rison, with  an  ample  force  under  his  command, 
was  proceeding  on  his  destination  towards  the 
M  chjgan  territory.  On  the  Niagara  frontier,  a 
detachment  of  the  regidar  and  other  forces,  under 
the  command  of  major-general  Van  Rensselaer, 

"pon  a  British  post,  and  were  for  a  time  victorious; 
but  no  receiving  the  expected  support,  they  were 
compelled  to  yield  to  reinforcements  of  British  re 
gulars  .^nd  savages.  On  the  lake,,,  preparations' 
«ere  making  to  secure  a  naval  ascendency,  so  es- 
sential to  a  permanent  peace  with,  an.I  a  controul 
over  the  savages.  Among  the  incidents  of  the 
".caMires  oi  war,  the  president  was  constrained  to 
advert  to  the  Refusal  of  the  governors  of  Mall! 


54 


THE  U7/ITED  STATES 


chusetts  and  Connecticut,  to  furnish  the  requisite 
detachments  of  militia  towards  the  defence  of  the 
maritime  frontier;  and  to  intimate,  that  if  the  au- 
thority of  the  United  States  to  call  into  service, 
and  command  the  militia  for  the  public  defence, 
could  thjis  be  frustrated,  the  public  safety  might 
have  no  other  resource  than  those  of  large  and  per- 
manent military  establishments,  which  are  forbid- 
den by  the  principles  of  a  free  government.     On 
the  coasts  and  on  the  ocean,  the  war  had  been  *a8 
successful   as  the  circumstances,  from   its  early 
stage,  could  promise:  Great  Britain  had  become 
sensible  of  the  difference  between  a  reciprocity  of 
captures,  and  the  long  confinement  of  them  to  their 
own  side.     Commerce  had  been  much  protected  by 
a  squadron  of  frigates  under  commodore  Rodgers; 
and  in  the  instance  of  the  frigate  Constitution,  un- 
4ler  the  command  of  captain  Hull,  in  which  skill 
and  bravery  were  more  particularly  measured  with 
the  British,  the  American  flag  enjoyed  an  auspi- 
cious  triumph. 

Between  France  and  America,  affairs  retained 
the  posture  which  they  held  at  the  period  of  the 
last  communication  to  the  congress.  Notwith- 
standing the  authorized  expectation  of  an  early  and 
favourable  issue  of  the  discussions  on  tlie  tapis, 
they  had  been  procrastinated  to  the  latest  period; 
and  the  only  intervening  occurrence  meriting  at- 
tention was  the  promulgation  of  a  French  decree, 
purporting  to  be  a  definitive  repeal  of  the  Berlin 

tlie  ground  of  the  repeal  of  the  British  orders  in 


AND  GREAT  3RITAIN. 


55 


council,  was  rendered  by  its  time  and  manner  liable 
to  many  objections.  The  president,  in  continuation, 
then  shortly  adverted  to  the  relations  between  the 
Ukiited  States  and  the  other  governments  of  Eu- 
rope and  Africa;  and  represented  the  Indian  tribes, 
not  under  foreign  instigationr,  as  remaining  ^ 
peace,  and  receiving  the  civilizing  attentions  which 
had  proved  so  beneficial  to  them. 

Recurring  to  the  measures  to  be  taken  for  the 
vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war,  tlie  president  re- 
commended an  arrangement,  on  the  subject  of  the 
pay  and  term  of  enlistment,  more  favourable  to  the 
private  soldier.     The  revision  of  the  militia  laws 
was   also  suggested;   and  while  it  was  announc- 
ed, that  of  the  additional  ships  autiiorized  to  be  fit- 
ted for  the  public  service,  two  would  be  shortly 
ready  to  sail,  a  further  enlargement  of  the  naval 
force  of  the  United  States  was  recommended.     On 
the  subje.  t  of  finance,  the  receipts  into  the  treasury 
during  the  year  ending  on  the  30th  of  September 
last,  were  stated  to  exceed  sixteen  millions  of  dol- 
lars, which  had  been  found  sufficient  to  defray  all 
the  demands  on  the  treasury  to  that  day,  including 
a  necessary  reimbursement  of  nearly  three  millions 
of  the  principal  of  the  public  debt;  but  in  the  re- 
ceipts  into  the   treasury,  a  sum  of  nearly  eight 
million   eight    hundred   and    fifty   thousand    dol- 
lars, received  on  account  of  loans,  was  included. 
It   was  not  to  be  concealed  that  the  country  had 
difliculties  to  encounter,  but  at  the  same  time  it 

ahoundf^d    wifli    nnimafino*    /^nnowlanof :».,^       1   4.K- 

orders  in     H       ^Pii'»<^  an<l  strength  of  the  nation  were  considered 


56 


THE  UNITED  STATEi 


f 


hy  the  president  as  equal  to  the  support  of  all  its 
fights,,  consoled  as  the  people  were  by  the  reflec- 
tion that  the  war  in  which  they  were  engaged  was, 
on  their  part,  a  war  of  neither  ambition  nor  vain 
glory;  waged  not  in  violation  of  the  rights  of  others, 
out  for  the  maintenance  of  their  own. 

Such  was  the  view  of  the  contest  between  the 
United  States  of  America  and  Great  Britain,  taken 
by  the  president,  in  the  month  of  November,  1812 
On  the  30th  of  the  same  month,  the  parliament  of 
trreat  Britain  assembled,  and  the  prince  regent,  in 
addressing  the  lords  and  commons  on  the  same 
subject,  said:— 

**The  declaration  of  war  by  the  government  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  was  made  under  cir- 
cumstances which  might  have  afforded  a  reasonable 
expectation  that  the  amicable  relations  between  thd 
two  nations  would  not  be  long  interrupted.    It  is 
with  sincere  regret  that  I  am  obliged  to  acquaint 
you,  that  the  conduct  and  pretensions  of  that  gov- 
ernment  have  hitherto  prevented  the  conclusion  of 
any  pacific  arrangement.     Their  measures  of  hos- 
tility have  been  directed  against  the  adjoining  pro- 
vinces, and  every  effort  has  been  made  to  seduce 
the  inhabitants  of  them  from  their  allegiance  to  his 
majesty.     The  proofs,  however,  which  I  have  re- 
ceived of  loyalty  and  attachment  from  his  majesty's 
siibjects  in  North  America  are  highly  satisfactory. 
The  attempts  of  the  enemy  to  invade  Upper  Cana- 
da have  not  only  proved  abortive,  but  by  the  judi- 
cious arrangements  of  the  governor-ffeneral.  and 
hy  the  skill  and  decision  with  which  the  military 


ASO  GBEAT  BRITAIN. 


57 


operations  have  been  conducted,  the  forces  of  the 
enemy  assembled  for  that  purpose  in  one  quarter 
have  been  compelled  to  capitulate,  and  in  another 
have  been  completely  defeated.  My  best  eiforta 
are  not  wanting  for  the  restoration  of  peace  and 
amity  between  the  two  countries^  but  until  this  oh- 
ject  can  be  obtained  without  sacrificing  the  mari- 
time rights  of  Great  Britain,  I  sfaaU  rely  upon 
your  cordial  support  in  a  vigorous  prosecution  of 
the  war." 

From  these  documents,  both  emanating  from  the 
first  magistrates  in  the  states,  it  appears,  that  in 
each  of  the  hostile  countries,  the  original  cause  of 
the  war,  <ind  the  responsibility  of  its  continuance, 
was  imputed  to  the  enemy.     But  when  the  angry 
passions  in  which  this  contest  was  engendered  have 
subsided,  an  impartial  posterity  will  probably  ad- 
judge—that although  the  existence  of  the  British 
orders  in  council,  and  the  impressment  of  Ameri- 
can seamen,  justified  the  United  States  in  declar- 
ing war  against  Great  Britain,  in  the  first  instance; 
yet,  when  the  former  of  these  evils  v/as  removed, 
and  when  an  offer  to  suspend  hostilities  by  sea  and 
land  was  made  through  the  medium  of  the  British 
authorities  in  America,  in  order  to  adjust  the  still 
existing  differences,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  i^meri- 
can  government  to  have  accepted  the  pacific  over- 
ture.    Since  the  revocation  of  the  orders  in  council 
there  was  in  reality  no  principle  at  issue  between 
the   two  countries.     The   limits  of  the  right   of 
blockade  stand  fixed  by  the  law  of  nations  upon 

grounds  that  admit  of  no  serious  dispute.    With 
£  2 


58 


THE  DiriTBD  STATES,  &C, 


regard  to  the  impressment  of  seamen,  America  did 
not  deny  that  Great  Britain  Imd  a  right  to  reclaim 
l.cr  o,v,-  subjects:  and  the  English  gorcrnment  did 
'i>t  pr.  tend  t..  have  any  rigl,*  to  impress  any  who 
were  really  and  truly  American  citizens.    The 
whole  ciuttjT.  I  then  was  about  the  means  of  assert- 
ing  these  rights}  and  had  the  ministers  of  both 
countries,  as  Mr.  Burke  expresses  it,  sought  for 
peace  ,„  the  spirit  of  peace,  there  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  two  nations,  of  the  same  kindred, 
speaking  the  same  tongue,  and  bound  to  each  other 
by  a  common  interest,  would  have  remained  for  a 
single  montte  in  a  state  of  open  hostility. 


©HA^ffim  T. 


The  war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  of  America,  though  affording  none  of  those 
scenes  of  imposing  grandeur,  which  in  some  mea- 
sure, compensate  to  the  mind  the  contemplation  of 
liuman  misery,  was,  nevertheless,  full  of  interest^ 
and  the  novelty  of  some  of  its  principles,  with  the 
political  considerations  it  involved,  fixed  the  atten- 
tion  more  forcibly  perhaps  than  the  perpetual  re- 
currcice  of  similar  events  in  the  conflicts  between 
long  established  governments. 

The  widely  extended  scene  of  military  opera- 
tions in  America  lay  principally  upon  the  Canadian 
frontier,  extending  from  the  state  of  Vermont,  on 
the  southern  confines  of  Lower  Canada,  to  the  Mi- 
chigan territory,  at  the  western  extremity  of  Up- 
per Canada.    At  the  opening  of  the  campaign  of 
1813,  the  American  army  of  the  west  was  placed 
at  the  front  of  Lake  Erie,  under  general  Harrison; 
the  army  of  the  centre,  under  generals  Wilkinson 
and  Dearborn,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  falls  of  Niaga- 
ra, between  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  and  the  ar- 
my  of  the  north,  under  general  Hampton,  on  the 
banks  of  Lake  Champlain.#    The  object  of  these 

*  The  lakes  of  Amf>i<ir>a    ♦«  ..^^:.l. ^ 

™»^    •    .u    ^.  '  '"  "      "  ^^c^cnce  must  so  often  be 

made  m  the  history  of  the  present  war,  form  in  extent  a  species 
ot  inland  orean.  and  are  navigable  for  ships  of  large  burthen 
Lake  Superior  is  esteemed  the  largest  body  of  fresh  water  in  the 


60 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


forces  wa,s  to  invade  the  two  Canadas;  and  the  du- 
ty  which  devolved  upon  sir  George  Prevost,  the 
governor-general,  or  British  viceroy,  and  the  ar- 
mies under  his  command,  was  to  resist  their  incur- 
sions, and  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  his  majesty's 
North  American  dominions.  For  this  purpose,  the 
defence  of  the  Detroit  frontier  was  confided  to  colo- 
nels Proctor  and  Vincent,  while  general  Sheaffe, 
acting  under  the  more  immediate  direction  of  the 
governor-general,  was  charged  with  the  defence  of 
Lower  Canada. 

After  the  surrender  of  general  Hull,  no  opera- 
tions of  importance  took  place  on  the  Detroit  fron- 
tier till  the  month  of  January,  1813,  when  the 
American   general  Winchester,   commanding   the 

world,  being  lour  hundred  miles  long,  and  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred  and  twenty  miles  in  circumference.    Forty  rivers  pour  forth 
their  contributions  into  its  vast  expanse,  and  the  waters  are  again 
discharged  into  Lake  Huvon,  through  the  straits  of  St.  Mary. 
Next  to  Superior,  Lake  Hu?on  claims  the  pre-eminence.    It  is 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  and  one  thousand  one  hundred 
miles  in  circumference,  studded  to  the  north  with  islands,  and 
abounding  with  commodious  harbours.    Lake  Michigan  extends 
from  the  straits  of  Miichileniackinac  to  about  forty-two  degrees 
noyth  latitude,  being  nearly  three  hundred  miles  in  length,  and 
at  the  broadest  part  seventy-five  miles  in  width.    Detroit  river 
forms  the  southern  part  of  the  communication  between  Huron 
and  Erie,  and  was  the  scene  of  several  important  military  opera- 
tions during  the  war.    Lake  Erie  is  about  two  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  long,  and  in  some  parts,  seventy  miles  wide;  it  is  U.e  shal- 
lowebt  of  the  great  lakes,  and  the  navigation  is  the  most  difficult. 
The  communication  between  Erie  and  Ontario  is  formed  by  the 
river  Niagara,  down  which  the  water  flows  out  of  Erie  with  a  fine 
majestic  current,  about  a  mile  in  width.    About  a  mile  below 
Chippaway  the  bank  appears  to  recede  from  the  river,  and  the 


AND  OBEAT  BRITAIIC. 


dl 


right  wing  of  general  Harrison's  army,  marched 
to  the  attack  of  Detroit,  and  concentrated  his  troops 
at  the  village  of  Frenchtown,  on  the  river  Raisin. 
On  the  22d,  the  Americans,  amounting  to  about  one 
thousand  men,  were  attacked  by  a  combined  British 
and  Indian  force,  consisting  of  about  five  hundred 
regulars  and  militia,  and  six  hundred  Indians,  un- 
der  the  command  of  colonel  Proctor.     The  attack 
commenced  early  in  the  morning,  on  the  right  wing 
of  the  American  army,  and  was  made  with  so  much 
vigour  and  effect,  that  after  a  contest  of  about  a, 
quarter  of  an  hour,  they  were  driven  across  the 
river,  where  their  retreat  was  cut  off  by  a  largo 
body  of  Indians  stationed  in  their  rear.     The  left 
wing,  being  fortified  behind  a  picket  fence,  sustain- 

current  is  increased  to  an  awful  velocity.    The  fall  continues  tor 
about  half  a  mile,  and  when  arrived  at  the  crisis,  called  the  table 
rock,  it  sinks  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  earth.    In  a  deep  channel,  the  work  of  ages,  it  continues 
to  run  wxth  increased  vehemence  for  upwards  of  nine  miles,  du- 
rmg  which  it  faUs  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  when  the  cur- 
rent,  bursting  from  beneath  the  rocks,  opens  to  the  breadth  of 
half  a  mile,  and  holds  a  placid  course  between  Queenstown  and 
Lewistown,  till  the  congregated  discharges  of  all  the  Upper  Lakes 
are  received  by  Lake  Ontario.    The  Niagara  is  thirty  feet  deeps 
and  the  water  flows  at  the  rate  of  three  miles  an  hour,  discharg- 
ing  about  128,000,000  of  gallons  every  minute!  a  quantity  that 
might  seem  incredible,  were  it  not  a  well  ascertained  fact,  that 
the  river  Mississippi  discharges  96,000,000  of  gallons  every  se- 
cond!   Lake  Champlain,  which  has  no  communication  with  the 
great  lakes,  is  only,  in  comparison  of  them,  a  narrow  slip  of  wa- 
ter; it  is  about  one  hundred  miles  long,  situated  between  the 

'  ^'^'  """^  T  cniiuiu,  luivHjg  lis  outlet  Dy  the  oorrel, 

and  like  the  Ontario,  finds  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence  an  ample  re- 
ceptacle for  its  redundant  streams. 


63 


THE  VlfIT£0  STATES 


P 


ed  three  separate  chal-i^es,  but  finding  them.clvos 
at  length  exposed  to  a  concentric  fire,  their  gcner^ 
al,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  by  a  Wyandot 
chief  early  in  the  day,  agreed  to  capitulate,  and  hi« 
Whole  corps  was  surrendered  prisoners  of  war.    In 
this  short,  but  sanguinary  engagement,  the  number 
of  killed  and  wounded  on  the  part  of  the  Americans 
amounted  to  about  five  hundred,  and  their  loss  in 
prisoners  to  an  equal  number.      Of  the  British 
troops,  twenty.four  only  were  killed,  but  one  hun- 
dred  and  fifty-eigbt  were  wounded.     The  slaughter 
made  by  the  Indians  on  the  retreating  division  of 
the  enemy  was  terriblei  scarcely  one  of  them  sur- 
vived  the  battle.*  (12) 

After  the  defeat  of  the  right  wing  of  the  Ameri- 
can  army,  under  general  Winchester,  general  Har- 
rison  retreated  to  fort  Meigs,  and  occupied  himself 
unceasingly  in  strengtiiening  that  position,  while 
the  brigade  under  general  Cooks  was  actively  em- 
ployed during  the  remainder  of  the  winter  in  forti- 
fying  Upper  Sandusky. 

The  frequent  predatory  incursions  of  the  Ameri. 
tans  on  the  Canadian  border,  near  the  river  St 
Lawrence,  induced  sir  George  Prevost,  who  arri- 
ved at  Prescot  on  the  filst  of  February,  to  direct 
an  attack  to  be  made  upon  the  enemy's  position  at 
Ogdensburgh.  On  the  22d,  major  Macdonnel,  of 
the  Glengary  light  infantry  fencibles,  at  the  head 
of  about  five  hundred  regulars  and  militia,  crossed 

•  Colonel  Proctor's  Disnatrhac.    ^„*^j  o_.-  ,    .  ,     . 
lojo  *"        ""'  «at.va  tsuiis-vyicn,  January  25, 


AWII  OBEAT  BRITAIir. 


64 


the  river,  upon  the  ice,  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning.    The  right,  commanded  by  captain  Jen- 
kins,  of  the  Glengaiy  regiment,  was  directed  to  hold 
the  enemy's  left  in  check,  and  to  interrupt  bis  re- 
treat,  while  major  Macdonnel  moved  on  with  the 
left  column  towards  his  position  in  the  town,  where 
he  had  posted  his  heavy  field  artillery.     The  depth 
of  snow,  in  some  degree,  retarded  the  advance  of 
both  columns,  and  exposed  them,  particularly  the 
right,  to  a  heavy  c  jss  fire  from  the  batteries  of  the 
enemy;  but  pushing  on  rapidly,  the  left  column  soon 
gained  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  and  after  encoun- 
tering a  few  disciiaiges  of  artillery,  obliged  the ene- 
m>'s  infantry  to  seek  refuge  in  the  houses  or  in  the 
woods.      During  these  transactions,  captain  Jen- 
kins gallantly  led  on  his  column,  exposed  to  the 
heavy  fire  of  seven  guns,  which  he  bravely  attempt- 
ed to  take  by  the  bayonet,  thougli  covered  by  two 
hundred  of  the  enemy's  best  troops.     On  advancing 
to  the  charge,  his  left  arm  was  broken  to  pieces  by 
a  grape  shot;  still  undauntedly  running  on  with  his 
men,  he  almost  immediately  afterwards  was  depri- 
ved of  the  use  of  his  right  arm  by  a  discharge  of 
case  shot;  disregarding  all  personal  considerations, 
he  continued  nobly  to  advance,  cheering  his  men 
to  tlie  assault;,  tiH,  exhausted  by  pain  and  loss  of 
blood,  he  became  unable  to  move;  his  company, 
however,  continued   gallantly  to    advance,   under 
lieutenant  M*Auley;  but  the  reserve  of  militia  not 
being  able  to  keep  up  wltii  the  regulars,  they  were 
compelled  to  give  way,  nearly  about  the  time  that 
major  Macdonnel  gained  the  height.     The  enemy 


.^' 


64 


THE  UiriTED  STATES 


hesitating  to  surrender  at  the  summons  of  the  ma- 
jor, his  eastern  battery  was  carried,  and  a  detach- 
ment, under  captain  Eustace,  gallantly  rushed  into 
the  fort,  while  the  Americans,  retreating  to  the 
opposite  entrance,  abandoned  their  works,  and  es- 
caped into  the  woods.    The  gallantry  and  self-de- 
votion  of  captain  Jenkins  was  the  theme  of  univer- 
sal admiration,  and  sir  George  Prevost,  in  trans- 
mitting  the  report  of  this  brilliant  achievement  to 
his  government,  earnestly  recommended  the  muti- 
lated   hero   to  the  favour   and  protection   of  his 
prince.     In  the  battle  of  Ogdenburgh,  wliich  lasted 
little  more  than  an  hour,  the  enemy  lost  eleven 
pieces  of  cannon,  all  his  ordnance,  marine  commis- 
sariat,  and  quarter-mastcr-gencral's  stores;  four 
officers  and  seventy  privates  were  taken  prisoners,- 
and  two  schooners   and  two  gun-boats,  together 
with  the  barracks  of  Ogdenburgh,  were  consigned 
^)  the  flames.  (13) 

The  American  army  of  the  centre,  at  the  com- 
mencemcnt   of  the  campaign,  consisted  of  about 
seven  thousand  men;  four  thousand  of  whom  were 
stationed  in  the  vicinity  of  Sackett's  Harbour,  and 
t^ie  remaining  three  thousand  at  the  head  of  the 
Niagara  river,  near  Cape  Buffalo.     On  the  22d  of 
April,  a  corps  of  their  best  troops,  amounting  to 
sixteen  hundred,  under  general  Dearborn,  embark- 
ed on  board  the  flotilla,  commaded  by  commodore 
Chauncey,  at  Sackett's  Harbour,  and  in  the  morn- 
i"g  of  the  snh,  arrived  off"  York,  on  the  northern 
fcan;i  of  Lake  Ontario.     The  debarkation  of  the  in- 
vaders was  vigorously  opposed  by  major-general 


*ii«f 


AWD  GREAT  BRITAIlT. 

Sheaffc,  at  the  head  of  seven  hundred  British,  and 
one  hundred  Indian  troopsi  but  the  superior  num. 
bers  of  the  enemy  enabled  him  to  surmount  every 
difficulty,  and  to  make  good  his  landing  without 
any  material  loss.    No  sooner  had  the  whole  of 
their  troops  gained  the  banks  of  the  lake,  than  they 
advanced  through  an  intervening  wood  to  the  open 
ground,  and  after  carrying  one  of  the  British  bat- 
teries  by  assault,  moved  in  columns  towards  the 
main  works.    At  this  moment  their  progress  was 
arrested  by  the  accidental*  explosion  of  a  large 
magazine;  an  immense  quantity  of  stones  flew  in 
every  direction,  and  general  Pike,  to  whom  the 
command  of  the  advancing  column  was  confided, 
became  one  of  the  numerous  victims  of  this  dread- 
ful casualty.    Nor  were  the  British  troops  whol- 
ly  exempt  from  its  effects;  forty  at  least  of  their 
number  fell  before  a  force  which  neither  skill  nor 
bravery  could  resist.     General  Sheaffe  finding  all 
further  resistance  unavailing,  withdrew  from  the 
city  with  his  regular  troops  towards  Kingston,  and 
left  the  commanding  officer  of  the  militia  to  treat 
with  general  Dearborn  for  the  surrender  of  the 
capital  of  Upper  Canada.    The  loss  of  the  Ameri- 
can  army  in  the  battle  of  York,  amounted  to  three 
hundred  and  twenty,  including  thirty-eight  killed, 

•  This  explosion  is  represented  in  general  Dearborn's  des- 
patches  to  the  American  Secretary  at  War,  as  a  preconcerted 
measure;  no  evidence,  however,  is  given  in  support  of  the  charge  • 
and  m  the  absence  of  all  proof,  we  are  hnnnd  f »:..--  1- ' 


0i 


66 


THE  ViriTKD  8TATB9 


and  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  wounded,  by  the 
explosion.  The  British  loss  may  be  estimated  at 
four  hundred,  of  which  number  three  hundred,  at 
least,  became  prisoners.  (14) 

The  next  object  of  general  Dearborn's  expedi- 
tion, was  the  capture  of  forts  George  and  Erie,  and 
on  the  8th  of  May,  the  American  troops  evacuated 
the  capital  of  Upper  Canada,  and  proceeded  to  the 
Niagara  frontier.    At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning 
of  the  27th,  the  American  flotilla  appeared  off  fort 
George,  and  the  debarkation  of  the  light  troops 
immediately  commenced.    The  landing  of  the  troops 
was  vigorously  i-csisted  by  colonel  Vincent,  the 
British  commander;  but  the  numerical  superiority 
of  the  assailants,  combined  with  that  coolness  and 
intrepidity  which  experience  imparts,  and  of  which 
the  Americans  had  already  begun  to  show  several 
examples,  overcame  all  opposition.    It  now  became 
obvious  that  the  place  would  soon  become  untena- 
ble; and  colonel  Vincent,  having  spiked  his  guns, 
and  destroyed    his    magazines,    abandoned    fort 
George  to  the  enemy,  but  not  till  he  had  sustained 
a  loss  of  upwards  of  three  hundred  men.     The  cap- 
ture  of  fort  Erie  speedily  succeeded  the   fall  of 
fort  George;  but  these  conquests  were  only  tran- 
sient, for  before  the  end  of  the  month  of  June,  the 
superiority  of  the  British  deet,  under  sir  James 
Y^o,  became  so  decided,  that  the  Americans  in  their 
turn  were  obliged  to  relinquish  all  the  posts  they 
had  acquired  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Niagara.  (15) 

,   Q^...,,j^    ^„  j^jj5-   ^j^y..^  j^j  „jg  iiritisli 

troops,  occurred  on  the  6th  of  June,  at  Burlington 


AlfD  GBEAT  BBITAIIT.  67 

Heights,  near  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario,  where 
colonel  Vincent  was  posted  with  his  division.   Th« 
fall  of  forts  George  and  Erie,  had  left  the  Ameri- 
cans at  liberty  to  pursue  their  successes,  and  gene- 
rals  Chandler  and  Winder,  at  the  head  of  three 
thousand  five  hundred  infantry,  and  two  hundred 
and   fifty  cavalry,*  advanced  from  Forty  Mile 
Creek  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  British 
position.    Colonel  Vincent,  aware  of  the  vast  supe- 
riority of  force  with  which  he  was  menaced,  dis- 
patched lieutenant-colonel  Haney,  with  two  1^  ht 
companies,  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  position,  and 
from  his  report,  was  led  to  determine  upon  a  noc 
turnal  attack  on  the  American  camp.    A  force  not 
exceeding  seven  hundred  men  was  destined  to  this 
enterprize.   About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the 
picket  was  forced,  and  the  attack  commenced.—  . 
The  scene  was  truly  appalling,-  the  yells  of  the  In- 
dians, mingled  with  the  roar  of  the  cannon  and 
musketry,  were  calculated  to  shake  the  iron  nerves 
even  of  veteran  troops.    The  British,  having  pre- 
concerted  their  measures,  charged  repeatedly,  and 
witli  considerable  effect,-  while  the  Americans,  sur- 
prised at  the  dead  of  night,  and  incapable  of  dis- 
tinguishing  friend  from  foe,  fouglit  to  great  disad- 
vantage.     The   result  was,   that  the  enemy  was 
driven  from  his  camp,  and  generals  Chandler  and 
Winder,  with  more  than  one  hundred  officers  and 
privates,  were  made  prisoners.     The  British  after- 

-'  '  "'^^"^  =»  ucspaicncs.— Coionei  Burn,  of  the  Ameri- 

can  sei-vice,  states,  that  their  number  in  the  field  did  not  exceed 
one  thousand. 


68 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


wards  inarched  back  to  their  cantonments,  carry- 
ing with  them  three  guns  and  a  brass  howitzer, 
captured  in  the  battle;  and  the  Americans,  still 
greatly  superiour  in  number,  after  re-occupying 
their  camp,  in  order  to  destroy  their  incumbrances, 
commenced  a  precipitate  retreat.  (16) 

The  last  operation  on  this  scene  of  hostility,  pre- 
vious  to  the  final  retreat  of  tlie  Americans,  was 
undertaken  by  lieutenant-colonel  Boerstler,  having 
under  his  command  a  force  amounting  to  about  six 
hundred  men.    The  object  of  this  enterprise  was 
to  cut  off  the  supplies  of  the  British,  and  to  break 
up  their  suhill  encampments.     But  on  the  24th  of 
June,   the   Americans   themselves   were   attacked 
about  nine  miles  west  of  Quecsistown  by  a  body  of 
five  hundred  Indians,  supported  by  one  hundred 
.  regular  British  troops.    The  attack  commenced 
on  the  rear,  and  was  made  with  so  much  decision 
and  perseverance,  that  colonel  Bcerstler,  and  the 
whole  of  his  corps,  suri-endered  themselves  prison- 
ers  into  the  hands  of  lieutenant-colonel  Bishopp. 

While  the  American  army,  under  general  Dear- 

born,  and  the  flotilla,  under  commodore  Chauncey, 

were  employed  in  the  expedition  against  York  and 

fort  George,  a  plan  of  combined  operations  was 

arranged  by  Sir  George  Prevost  with  commodore 

Sir  James  Yeo,  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  the 

garrison  of  Sackett's  Harbour,  and  taking  posses- 

sion  of  that  place.     In  pursuance  of  this  object,  a 

fleet  of  between   thirty  and  forty  boats  assembled 

•  IX    n  —  --"5  «»w  Hi,  iuii  o  ciocK   on  the 

night  of  the  28th  of  May,  the  expedition,  headed 


AND  GREAT  BBITAIN. 


09 


by  the  commodore's  ship,  sailed  for  Sackett's  Har- 
bour.    It  was  the  intention  of  colonel  Baynes,  to 
wliora  the  military  command  of  the  expedition  was 
confided,  to  iiavc  landed  in  the  cove  formed  by 
Horse  Island}  but  on  approaching  to  that  place,  it 
was  discovered  that  the  enemy  had  lined  the  neigh- 
bouring woods  with  infantry,  and  that  a  field-piece 
was  planted  on  the  shore  to  give  eflTect  to  their  re- 
sistance.   The  boats  were   now  directed  to  pull 
round  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  island,  where  a 
landing  was  effected  in  good  order,  and  with  little 
loss,  though  in  the  face  of  a  corps  of  the  enemy. 
The  advance  was  led  by  the  grenadiers  of  the  100th 
regiment,  with  a  spirit  of  gallantry  which  no  ob- 
stacle could  arrest.    A  narrow  causeway,  in  many 
places  under  water,  and  about  four  hundred  paces 
in  length,  which  connected  the  island  with  the  main 
land,  was  forced  and  carried,  and  a  six-pounder, 
by  which  it  was  defended,  taken.    The  gun-boats, 
which  had  covered  the  landing,  afforded  material 
aid  by  firing  into  the  woodsy  but  the  American 
soldiers,  secure  behind  their  trees,  were  only  to  be 
dislodged  by  the  point  of  the  bayonet.    A  vigorous 
charge  now  took  place,  and  the  enemy  fled  with 
precipitation  from  their  block-house  and  fort.    But 
here  the  energies  of  the  troops  became  unavailing. 
The  enemy  having  turned  the  heavy  ordnance  of 
his  battery  to  the  interior  defence  of  his  post;  the 
British  force  first  paused,  and  then  re-embarked; 
a  ^««-"  asi  5<jjc  piiiicjpui  oujeci  o£  liie  enter- 
prise, and  sustained  a  loss  in  kUled,  wounded  and 
r  2 


TO 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


missing,  amountin.^  to  two  hundred  and  jRfty-ninfc 
men.-'* 

One  of  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  a 
popular  foriir  of  government,  consists  in  the  neces- 
»ity  under  which  the  executive  power  is  placed  to 
account  to  the  country  for  the  burthens  and  suffer- 
ings to  which  they  become  subject  in  a  state  of  war,- 
and  to  shew  that  no  measure,  compatible  with  the 
national  honour  and  safety,  is  left  unattempted  to 
procure  the  restoration  of  peace.     This  policy  was 
steadily  pursued  by  the  president  of  the  United 
States^  ana  when  the  negotiations  for  an  armistice 
between  the  belligerents  had  failed,  he  availed  him- 
self with  avidity  of  the  offer  made  by  a  neutral 
power— the  common  friend  of  both  Great  Britain 
and  America,  to  mediate  the  existing  differences. 
His  decision  on  this  point  was  communicated  t^ 
congress  at  the  opening  of  their  extra  session  on 
the  25th  of  May;  on  which  occasion,  the  president's 
message  informed  them,  that  at  an  early  day  after 
the  close  of  the  last  session  of  congress,  an  offer 
was  formally  communicated  from  the  emperor  of 
Russia,  of  his  mediation,  as  the  common  friend  of 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  for  the  pur- 
pose  of  facilitating  a  peace  between  them.     "The 
high  character  of  the  emperor  Alexander,"  contin- 
ued the  prer^ient,  "being  a  satisfactory  pledge  for 
the  sincerity   and  impartiality  of  his  offers,  the 
proffered  mediation  was  immediately  accepted^  and 

*  "^^Patch  addressed  by  colonel  Baynes  to  Sir  Geoi^  Prevost, 
dated  Kingston,  May  30,  1813. 


AND   GBKAT  BRITAIN. 


n 


as  a  furtlier  proof  of  the  disposition  of  the  United 
States  to  meet  their  adversary  in  honourable  ex- 
periments for  terminating  the  war,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  avoid  intermediate  delay,  incident  to  the 
distance  of  the  parties,  by  a  definitive  provision  for 
the  contemplated  negotiation."  For  this  purpose, 
three  citizens,  of  the  first  consideration  in  the 
United  States,  were  provided  with  the  requisite 
powers  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace,  and  dispatch- 
ed  to  the  Russian  capital,  to  negotiate  with  persons 
clothed  with  like  powers  on  the  part  of  Great  Bri- 
tain. The  issue  of  this  pacific  manifestation  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States,  time  alone  could  de- 
cide;  but  it  was  deemed  highly  probable  that  the 
sentiments  of  Great  Britain  towards  the  imperial 
mediator  would  produce  a  ready  acceptance  of  his 
pacific  services.  In  the  subsequent  parts  of  the 
president's  message,  the  subject  of  the  impressment 
of  American  seamen  is  again  discussed,  and  a 
vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  strenuously  re- 
commended. 

The  extra  congress,  which  concluded  its  sittings 
in  August,  conducted  the  public  business  with  uu- 
accustomed  dispatch,  and  with  a  degree  of  unanimi- 
ty  strongly  illustrative  of  the  truth,  that  however 
reluctant  a  nation  may  be  to  involve  itself  in  the 
burthens  and  embarrassments  of  war,  the  govern- 
roent,  when  the  contest  is  actually  commenced,  and 
continued  under  an  impression  that  the  honour  and 
safetv  of  the  o<^af«  o»»o  ;«,r^i.r^.i  :..   u.^  i ^       ••■ 

y  •.i-i5.st.-_-     Z3.Z -u     £.it~  \Si.V^\i  5ii     iv£»    icioUic,     Will 

always  be  able  to  command  the  national  resources. 
The  establishment  of  a  system  of  war  taxes  capa- 


72 


THB  UNITED  STATES 


ble  of  defraying  the  interest  of  the  existing  debt, 
and  of  providing  for  the  interest  of  future  loans. 
w4s  the  principal  business  of  the  assembly,-  and 
though  considerable  difference  of  opinion  existed 
as  to  the  fittest  objects  of  taxation,  the  majority  of 
the  i-epresentatives  of  the  people  gave  their  support 
to  the  measures  proposed  by  the  committee  of  ways 
and  means.     A  further  loan  was  authorized  of 
seven  millions  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  for 
the  service  of  the  present,  and  for  the  first  quarter 
in  the  ensuing  year;  and  a  variety  of  acts  were 
passed  relative  to  the  prosecution  and  conduct  of 
the  war.    All  these  measures  served  to  mark  the 
progress  of  a  new  state  towards  the  condition  of 
an  old  belligerent  and  to  shew  that  the  inhabitante 

tlLt  "T  Tr"  "'''  ""'  '"'y'"""'  the  sphere  ot 
that  perpetual  hostility  i„  which  the  greater  portion 
of  Europe  had  been  so  long  involved. 

As  the  season  advanced,  the  operations  of  the 
campaign  on  the  margin  of  the  lakes  became  moie 

wl  r  ^"n  ""'""■""'*•  °"  *'"'  »«"'•''"  frontier. 
Where,  tdl  now,  success  had  almost  invariably  at- 
tended the  British  arms,  a  striking  reverse  o/for. 
iecamelh"  '  ■""■  t""  Americans,  in  their  turn, 
of  r«er.l  W-T,  ^"<"- the  defeat  and  capture 
ot  general  Winchester,  the  British  troops,  „„der 
colonel    now  general  Proctor,   advanceV  at  the 

mihtia.  and  twelve  h„„.V; d  Indians,  to  the  r>v.r 
Miama,  in  expectation  of  reaching  the  army  und-^ 
scnera.  Harrison,  which  had  taken  post  'in  foi- 
Meigs,  near  the  foot  of  the  Rapids.    From  the  in. 


AND  GBEAT  BRITAIN. 


ra 


cessant  and  heavy  rains,  during  which  the  British 
batteries  were  erected  opposite  the  fort,  it  was  not 
till  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  May,  that  the  siege 
of  Meigs  could  be  commenced.    The  enemy,  who 
occupied  several  acres  of  commanding  ground, 
strongly  defended  by  blockhouses,  well  furnished 
with  ordnance,  had  so  completely  intrenched  him- 
self, as  to  render  unavailing  every  effort  to  carry 
his  position.    On  the  morning  of  the  5th,  whUe 
the  fate  of  the  fortress  yet  hung  in  suspense,  an 
American  officer  arrived  at  Meigs  with  a  detach- 
ment of  men  from  general  Clay's  division,  bring- 
*"S  to  the  garrison  the  welcome  intelligence,  that 
tha«fllneral,  with  his  whole  force,  amounting  to 
thirteen  hundred  men,  was  descending  the  river, 
and  was  at  that  moment  but  a  few  miles  distant. 
Conceiving  that  the  British  army  was  now  in  his 
power,  general  Harrison  dispatched  orders  to  land 
one  half  of  the  advancing  force  on  the  side  of  the 
river  opposite  to  the  fort,  and  to  co-operate  with 
him  in  an  attempt  to  force  the  British  batteries,  and 
to  spike  their  cannon.     Colonel  Dudley,  the  officer 
charged  with  the  execution  of  this  movement,  ad- 
vanced with  so  much  vigour,  that  in  a  few  minutes 
he  was  in  possession  of  the  batteries  of  the  besieg- 
ers, and  had  taken  some  p^i8one^s^  but  his  troops, 
elevated  unduly  with  their  success,  continued  the 
pursuit  till  they  were  finally  drawn  into  an  am- 
bush; and  their  whole  number,  with  very  few  ex- 
ceptions, was  either  killed  or  taken.  Colonel  Dud- 
ley,  who  was  among  the  slain,  displayed  the  most 
heroic  firmness,  and  kiUed  one  of  the  Indian  war- 


74 


TMB  l/NlTliJO  gTATBl 


Ihe  offlcew  and  men  of  the  4l8t  regiment,  who* 
kd  on  by  captain  M..ir,  cbargeU  and  rout  d  2 

^^"fh^  .  '""«-*«*'"''•'"'««'  "'P-tation  of  the  cor,.8j 

lZ77'tZ  '"""  '^o-tWIrto  the  successful 

rr  II  in,  ?«"««""''"•    The  loss  of  the  Ameri- 

Zm.tff'  *""""'"•  """  P"''°»«'-«'  *«"  esti- 
mated at  between  one  thousand  and  twelve  hun 

S  T; "  "'''■"'""  '"'*  "^  ^"'"»  -re «;  vit 

teers.  but  consisted  of  the  Kentucky  quota.*  (,7) 

Brilliant  as  had  been  the  success  of  the  ritask 
army  on  this  occasion,  it  soon  became  evident  that 
tbcr  posj^.o„  of  the  Miami  «ust  be  speedily  aban 
doned     One  half  „f  the  Canadian  mUiti.  \SZ 
he.r  standard  soon  after  the  battle  of  the  5I  Id 
the  Indian  warriors,  following  the  custom  of  thdr 
country,  after  any  battle  of  consequence,  re Lnied 
to  their  villages,  with  their  wounded,  their  pri^n- 
ers  and  their  plunder,  to  revel  in  the  spoils  of  war 
a..d  to  gratify  their  savage  thirst  for  blood  by  ta 
mo  «.„g  a  portion  of  their  captives.    Before  Z 
ordnaace  could  be  withdrawn  from  the  batteries 
general  Proctor  found  his  twelve  hundred  iS 
auxiliaries  reduced  to  less  than  twenty,  and  his 

thTor,'"""'"''*'''"*'^'  *'"""»  «'0  morning  of 

retreat  to  his  former  station  at  Sandwich, 


AWD  GREAT  BSITAIlf.  75 

On  the  20th  of  July,  general  Proctor,  havinir 
given  way  to  the  clamour  of  his  Indian  allies, 
again  advanced  towards  the  head  of  Lake  Erie- 
and  on  the  2d  of  August,  made  an  attack  on  fort 
Stephenson,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  Sandusky, 
where  the  Americans  had  collected  a  small  force, 
under  major  George  Croghan.     Finding  the  ene- 
my  determined  to  defend  the  fori:,  general  Proctor 
resolved  to  carry  the  place  by  assault;  the  Indians, 
however,   not   relishing  this  species   of  warfare, 
withdrew  themselves  out  of  the  reach  of  the  ene- 
my's  fire;  and  although  his  majesty's  troops  dis- 
played  the  greatest  bravery,  they  were  repulsed 
after  a  short  but  aiiimated  struggle,  with  the  loss 
of  about  one  hundred  men,  and  obliged  once  more 
to  return  to  Sandwich.     The  failure  of  the  British 
troops  at  fort  Stephenson,  i„d  the  indication  of 
disaffection  exhibited  by  the  Indians  on  that  occa- 
Hion,  had  encouraged  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
Americans  to  detach  from  the  British  army  their 
native  allies,,  and  with  this  view,  a  deputation  of 
chiefs  ,n  the  interest  of  the  enemy  were  dispatched 
to  lH,ld  a  talk  with  their  brethren;  but  the  contempt 
with  which  their  proposal  was  received,  and  the 
determination  expressed  by  the  Indians  in  the  Bri- 
iish  interest,  to  adhere  to  the  cause  of  their  ffreat 
father  in  England,  extinguished  these  hopes,'  and 
put  an  end  to  the  negotiation.* 

In  the  autumn  of' the  present  year,  the  tide  of 
victory  set  in  with  a  strong  current  in  favour  of 

<^^\^^V"\  ^'°""  ^'"  ^^°^S^  ^revest  to  Earl  Bathurst,  dated 
«t.  David's,  August  25.  1813. 


re 


THB  ViriTED  (TATB) 


the  Americn  arms.    Wliatever  might  be  the  nu- 
mencaJ  superiority  of  tlie  Americans  on  land,  it 
seemed  reasonable  to  .Tj.ec*  that  on  another  ele- 
ment  Great  Britain  vh.hIu  v).v«ys  retain  the  ascen- 
•lency,  and  that  the  ample  resources  of  her  s   val 
power  would  enable  her  at  all  times  to  contend  sue 
cessfully  with  the  enemy  on  the  frontier  lakes  of 
Canada.    The  importance  of  tl,.s  preponderance 
had  become  so  manifest  to  the  governor-general, 
that  he  had  m.^de  repeated  applications  for  rein- 
forcements,  but  it  was  not  till  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber.  that  shipping  suitable  for  this  service  arrived 
at  Montreal.    In  the  meantime,  the  BriUsh,  or  ra- 
ther the  Canadian  fleet,  commanded  by  captain 
Barclay,  and  the  American  fleet,  under  the  com- 
mand of  captain  Perry,  met  near  the  head  of  Lake 
Erie  *    In  the  morning  of  the  1  oth  of  September, 
the  American  squadron,  while  lying  at  anchor  in 
rut-in-Bay,  discovered  the  British  fleet,  and  im- 
mediately got  under  way  to  give  them  battle.     At 
ten  o  clock  in  the  forenoon,  both  fleets  formed  in 
line,  and  cleared  for  action.    The  lightness  of  the 

niL^'^ef"^  ■"',?"  ^'"""^" '"'•""'''-  *<'  Britlsl,  fleet  con. 
«sted  of  the  bng:  Oetroit,  of  twenty  gu„«;  the  Queen  Charlotte, 

of  eighteen,  the  Wy  Prevost,  of  fourteen,  the  Hornet,  of  tl 

and  one  sloop  and  a  schooner,  of  three  guns  each.    On  tke  JTe 

authontyt  is  stated,  tl-.at  the  American  fleet  consisted  ofT 

Law^nce  and  the  Nia^ra,  of  twenty  guns  each,  and  severl 

sma  er  vessels,  carrying  an  avenge  of  two  gun,  elch.    cl^  ^ 

Z  tl  tr  P'^""^ '"P"'"'  '"  ''^"gth  to  his  own,  and 
s»y8.  that  there  were  not  more  than  fifty  British  .„„,.„  „.  L.^ 
flift  Vessels,  '  ' "'"  "-'="" 


AWD  OaEAT  BBlTAIir.  Jj 

Wind  occasioned  them  to  approach  slowly,  and  ppo- 
longed  the  awful  interval  of  suspense  till  mid-day. 
On  the  approach  of  captain  Perry's  ship,  the  Law- 
rence,  a  heavy  fire  was  opened  upon  her  from  the 
Detroit,  which,  from  tlie  shortness  of  her  guns,  she 
was  at  fii^t  unable  to  return.     The  American  cap- 
tain,  without  waiting  for  his  lighter  vessels,  kept 
steadily  on  his  course,  and  approached  so  near  that 
It  seemed  to  be  his  intention  to  board.     For  some 
time  the  battle  was  decidedly  in  favour  of  the  Bri- 
tish.  Their  shot  pierced  the  side  of  the  Lawrence  in 
all  directions,  and  her  decks  were  strewed  with  the 
dead,  while  the  wounded,  in  considerable  numbers, 
were  carried  below.    Perceiving  the  hazard  of  his 
situation,  the  American  commodore  advanced  still 
further,  and  ordered  the  other  vessels  to  follow,  fop 
the  purpose  of  closing  with  the  British  fleet.    For 
two  hours  the  contest  was  continued  with  unabated 
vigour,  and  captain  Perry  at  length,  finding  the 
Lawrence  incapable  of  further  service,  determined 
to  transfer  his  flag  to  the  Niagara,  which  was  at 
that  moment  warmly  engaged.      Soon  after  the 
commodore's  flag  began  te  wave  on  the  Niagara, 
the  Lawrence  being  rendered  totally  incapable  of 
further  defence,  struck    ler  flag.    No  sooner  had 
captain  Perry  taken  his  station  on  board  the  Niag- 
ara,  than  a  signal  was  made  for  close  action^  and 
passing  ahead  of  the  British  ships,  in  order  to 
break  their  line,  he  gave  them  a  raking  fire  with 
his  starboard  guns,  and  laid  his  ship  alongside  of 

""^^"  ''"*     *  "^  siuaiiur  American  vessels  having 

in  the  meantime,  advanced  within  grape  and  can' 

G 


78 


THE  ViriT£D  tTATlS 


nister  shot  distance,  and  kept  up  a  well-directed 
fire,  the  Queen  Charlotte  struck,  and  all  tlio  other 
British  vessels  were  obliged  to  submit  to  the  same 
fate. 

The  engagement,  which  was  gallantly  contested, 
lasted  three  hours,  and  the  victory  on  the  part  of 
the  enemy  was  decisive.    The  loss  on  both  sides  was 
severer  and  of  the  crew  of  the  Lawrence,  scarcely 
any  individual,  except  the  captain,  escaped  the 
shower  of  shot  with  which  she  was  for  upwards  of 
two  hours  assailed.     The  return  made  by  captain 
Perry,  of  the  killed  and  wounded  on  board  his  fleet, 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-three;  the 
British  loss,  as  stated  by  captain  Barclay, 'was  for- 
ty-one  killed,  and  ninety-four  wounded,  among  the 
former  of  whom  was  captain  Finnis,  of  the  Queen 
Charlotte,  and  his  first  lieutenant;  and  among  the 
latter,  captain  Barclay  himself.    This  gallant  vet- 
eran-veteran in  service,  though  not  in  years,  had 
already  lost  an  arm  while  fig|,ting  the  battles  of 
his  country.     During  the  present  engagement  he 
was  twice  carried  below  to  receive  dressings  for  his 
wounds,  one  of  ivhich  deprived  him  of  ins  other 
hand.     While  under  the  hands  of  the  surgeon  the 
second  time,  an  officer  came  down,  and  told  him 
that  they  must  strike,  as  the  ships  were  cut  to 
pieces,  and  the  men  could  no  longer  be  kept  totlioir 
guns;  but  captain  Barclay,  unwilling  to  listen  to 
counsel  to  which  his  ears  were  so  little  accustomed, 
demanded  to  be  conveyed  on  deck,  and  after  taking 
a  survey  of  his  fleet,  and  finding  that  all  l.on.«  nf 
success  had  vanished,  consented,  with  extreme  re- 


AND  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


79 


luctancc,  to  strike  to  the  enemy.     The  American 
commodoic,  no  way  inferior  to  his  rival  in  valour, 
fought  with  a  degree  of  gallantry  that  acquired  for 
him  the  admiration  and  gratitude  of  his  country; 
and  consummated  his  bravery  by  so  much  kindness 
and  humanity  towards  his  prisoners,  that  captain 
Barclay,  in  the  generous  frankness  of  his  soul,  de- 
clared that  the  conduct  of  Perry,  towards  the  cap- 
tive officers  and  men,  was  sufficient,  of  itself,  to  im- 
mortal'7,e  him.     This  victory,  which,  it  must  be 
confessed,  was  of  high  importance  to  the  American 
cause,  was  extolled  throughout  the  United  States  in 
language  the  most  hyperbolical;  and  their  public 
writers,  under  the  influence  of  a  glowing  imagina- 
tion, did  not  hesitate  to  remark  that,  "the  peal  of 
war,  which  has  once  sounded  on  Eric,  will,  proba- 
bly, never  again  be  heard  on  that  lake.     The  last 
roar  of  cannonry,  that  died  along  her  shores,  was 
the  expiring  note  of  British  domination.     These 
vast  internal  seas  will,  perhaps,  never  again  be  the 
separating  space  between  contend  in-  nations;  but 
will  be  embosomed  within  a  mighty  empire;  and 
this  victory,  which  decided  their  fate,  will  stand 
unrivalled  and  alone,  deriving  lustre  and  perpetuity 
from  its  singleness."  (18) 

The  capture  of  the  Britisli  sciuadron  on  Lake 
Erie  was  the  precursor,  and  in  some  degree,  the 
cause  of  the  relinquishment  of  the  Michigan  territo- 
ry, and  tlie  abandonment  of  all  the  posts  in  Upper 
Canada,  beyond  the  Great  River.  Early  in  Sep- 
•  .==--..i5  ovu^iiii  AAarnson  oegati  to  concentrate  his 
force  near  the  mouth  of  the  Miami,  and  once  more 


80 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


to  prepare  for  a  descent  on  Canada.     On  the  17th 
of  that  month,  governor  Shelhy,  with  a  reinforce- 
ment  of  four  thousand  volunteers,  arrived  at  the 
American  head-quarters;  and  on  the  20th,  general 
M.Arthur's  brigade  joined  the  main  army.     Col- 
onel  Johnson's  regiment  of  cavalry  remained  at  fort 
Meigs,  but  had  orders  to  approach  Detroit  by  land, 
and  to  advance  pari  passu  with  the  commander-in- 
chief,  wlio  was  to  move  in  boats  to  Maiden.     Com- 
modore  Perry  was  actively  engaged  in  transport- 
mg  ,Me  troops  and  baggage  to  their  destination^  and 
on  the  27th,  general  Harrison's  army  debarked  three 
miles  from  Maiden.     On  advancing  to  that  place, 
instead  of  the  regimentals  of  the  British,  and  the 
war  hoop  of  the  Indians,  a  group  of  well-dressed 
females   presented   themselves,  and  on  behalf  of 
themselves  and  the  inhabitants,  implored  mercy  and 
protection.     It  was  now  discovered  that  Maiden 
had  been  abandoned  by  general  Proctor,  who  had 
determined  to  fail  back  for  the  purpose  of  taking  a 
station  on  the  river  Thames,     Sandwich  and  De- 
troit, thus  abandoned  to  their  fate,  fell  successively 
into  tlie  hands  of  tlic  invaders;  but  before  general 
Proctor  quitted  these  places,  he  had  taken  the  pre- 
caution  to  dismantle  the  ports,  and  to  destroy  the 
public  buildings  and  stores  of  every  description. 

On  the  2d  of  October  general  Harrison  had  com- 
pleted liis  arrangements  for  advancing  in  pursuit 
of  the  retreating  British  troops,  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  5th,  the  hostile  armies  came  in  contact 
*'^^*^*^''^  Moravian  village,  situated  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Tliamcs,  about  forty  miles  from  its  entrance 


AND  GREAT   BRITAIN. 


81 


the  irtli 
[•einforce- 
5d  at  the 
»  general 
»y.  Col- 
ed  at  fort 

by  land, 
mder-in- 
Com- 
•ansport- 
ion;  and 
ced  three 
at  place, 

and  the 
-dressed 
ehalf  of 
Jrcy  and 
Maiden 
vho  had 
aking  a 
md  De- 
ess  ively 
general 
he  pre- 
'oy  the 
tion. 
tfl  corn- 
pursuit 

morn- 
contact 
t  bank 
I  trance 


into  Lake  Clair.     ?  he  British  force,  which  was  ad- 
vantageously drawn  up  in   line  of  battle,  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  was  ectimated  at  five  hundred 
men,  supported  by  about  twelve  hundred  Indians. 
(19)     The  numerical  strength  of  the  American  ar- 
my was  nearly  double  this  amount,  including  one 
thousand  irregular  cavalry.     The  right  division  of 
the  American  army,  consisting  principally  of  horse, 
advanced  to  the  charge  with  great  impetuosity,  and 
in  an  instant  the  British  lines  were  broken,  and 
the  enemy  formed  in  their  rear.     This  sudden  and 
unexpected  manoeuvre  was  decisive  of  the  fate  of  the 
day.     On  the  left  of  the  enemy's  position  the  con- 
test was  more  serious,  but  not  less  successful.    Co- 
lonel Johnson,  who  commanded  the  Americans  on 
that  flank,  encountered  a  steady  resistance  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians,  who,  by  their  gallant  conduct, 
rescued  themselves  from  the  disgrace  at  fort  Ste- 
phenson.    Tecumseh,  one  of  themost  distinguished 
of  their  chiefs,  and  the  brother  of  the  pi»ophet,  was 
personally  opposed  to  colonel  Johnson,  and  was  ad- 
vancing  upon  him  with  an  uplifted  tomahawk,  when 
the  colonel,  observing  his  approach,  drew  a  pistol 
from  his  holster,  and  laid  his  brave  adversary  dead 
at  his  feet,*    At  the  moment  of  the  fall  of  Tecum- 

•  This  celebrated  aboriginal  warrior  fell  in  tfie  forty.fourtfk 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  of  the  Shawannoe  tribe.  In  stature  he 
was  above  the  middle  size;  extremely  active;  and  capable  of  su». 
taming  fatigue  in  a  very  extraordinary  degree.  His  carriage  was 
erect  and  lofty-his  motion,  quick-his  eye  penetrating  -hig 
visage  stern,  with  an  air  of  hautercr  in  his  countenance.  a.i«inc.  ' 
iToiu  an  elevated  pride  of  soul.  His  rule  of  war  was  n^ith.r  to 
rve  nor  to  accept  quarter.    He  had  beea  m  almost  eveiy  b*tt»e, 


B2 


THIS  UNITED  STATES 


sell,  th?  Indians,  who  till  now  had  maintained  their 
ground  with  great  bravery,  gave  way;  and  general 
Proctor,  perceiving  that  all  was  lost,  ordered  his 
troops  to  disperse,  and  sought  his  own  safety  in 
flight.  Among  the  trophies  taken  by  the  Ameri- 
cans in  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  were  six  brass 
field-pieces,  which  had  been  surrendered  by  general 
Hull,  and  on  two  of  which  were  inscribed,  «•  Surren- 
dered by  Burgoyjie  at  Saratoga."  (19) 

The  American  army,  having  effected  the  object 
of  their  expedition,  returned  to  Detroit,  but  before 
they  departed  they  destroyed  Moravian  village,, 
atten  pting  to  palliate  this  enormity  on  the  ground, 
that  the  Indian  inhabitants  had  been   among  the 
foremost  in  massacreing  the  Americans  at  the  river 
Raisin;  8?id  on  the  further  plea,  that  the  town,  if 
spared,  would  have  afforded  a  convenient  shelter 
for  their  British  allies  during  the  winter.     While 
general   Harrison  was  advancing  to  the  Thames, 
the  Ottawas,  and  the  other  Indian  tribes,  proposed 
to  general  M*Arthur  to  suspend  liostilities,  and  to 
agree  to  <*take  hold  of  the  same  tomahawk  with 
the  Americans,  and  to  strike  all  the  enemies  of  the 
United  States,  whether  British  or  Indian.''   These 

with  the  Americans,  since  the  breaking  out  of  the  war;  had  re- 
ceived several  wounds,  and  always  sought  the  hottest  of  the  fire. 
His  ruling  passion  was  glory— wealth  was  beneath  his  ambition— 
and  although  his  plunderings  and  subsidies  must  have  amounted 
to  a  large  sum,  he  died  poor.  The  Americans  had  a  kind  of  fe- 
rocidus  pleasure  (19)  in  contemplating  tlie  contour  of  his  fea- 
tures, which  vas  majestic  even  in  deathj  but  some  of  the  Ken- 
tuckiaus  disgraced  themselves  by  committitig  indignities  on  his 
tifead  body. 


AND  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


89 


proposals  were  of  course  agreed  to,  and  tlie  Indians 
were  left  at  liberty,  according  to  the  American  ac- 
counts, either  to  take  up  arms  in  behalf  of  th© 
United  States,  or  to  remain  neutral. 

General  Proctor,  after  his  retreat  from  Mora- 
vian village,  repaired  to  Ancastcr,  on  the  Grand 
River,  where  he  collected  the  shattered  remains  of 
his  army,  amounting  to  about  two  hundred  nen, 
and  from  thence  marched  to  Burlington  Heights, 
the  head-quarters  of  general  Vincent! 


^. 


Si 

the 

self 

ed 

the 

don 

sail 

ant- 

but, 

troj 

habi 

(otl 

soor 

defe 

iiavj 

Que 

pose 

oftr 

ous 

29th 

acco 

eiien 

desc 

pi  ail 

barr 

thoiii 


Signal  as  the  success  of  the  enemy  had  been  on 
the  Detroit  frontier,  all  his  efforts  to  establish  him- 
self in  Lower  Canada  proved  unavailing,  and  serv- 
ed only  to  involve  him  in  loss  and  disaster.     On 
the  3 1st  of  July,  the  Ontario  fleet,  under  commo- 
dore Chauncey,  consisting  at  that  period  of  twelve 
sail,  and  carrying  a  military  force,  under  lieuten- 
ant-colonel Scott,  made  its  appearance  off  York; 
but,  after  throwing  open  the  public  jail,  and  des- 
troying the  store-houses  of  some  of  the  private  in- 
habitants, tliey  again  evacuated  the  town,  and  took 
to  their  vessel^.     The  attention  of  the  enemy  wa^ 
soon  drawn  from  these  predatory  excursions  to  the 
defence  of  their  own  settlements;  and  a  number  of 
naval  officers  and  seamen  were  dispatched  from 
Quebec,  on  board  a  flotilla  of  gun-boats,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  co-operating  with  a  small,  but  chosen  body 
of  troops,  under  lieutenant-colonel  Murray,  in  vari- 
ous demonstrations  on  Lake  Champlain.     On  the 
29th  of  July,  the  objects  rf  this  service  were  fully 
accomplished  by  the  ij'Ul  destruction  of  all  the 
eiiemy's  arsenals,  block-) , uses,  and  stores  of  every 
description,  at  Plattsburgh,  Swanton,  and  Cham- 
plaintown;  and  the  conflagration  of  the  extensive 
barracks  at  vSaranac,  capable  of  containing  four 
thousand  troops.    This  important  service  was  per- 


>"'%! 


86 


formed  with 


THE  ITMTBD  8TATBI 

a  degree  of 


acting 


lo 


promptitude  ar 
----.,  ^.s...}  Iionourable  to  the  offircrs  ( 
the  expedition,  and  without  the  loss  of  a  sin 
man.  (20) 

The  success  of  the  Americans,  on  the  shores  and 
on  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie,  had  created  that  ex- 
cess  of  exultation  whi,  h  often  finds  in  defeat  and 
dwappo,„tme„t  its  appropriate  punishment.    Upper 

a>(...ted  the  other  parts  of  the  dominions  of  his 
Bntann.c  majesty  in  North  America.  The  pre- 
parations  by  wUch  these  magniOcent  projects  were 

to  thT  f  ?«."'  'f'*'""'"'  ""*  """•^''""='-  '"adequate 
to  the,r  fulfilment,  a..!  it  was  publicly  announced, 

that  the  two  armies  under  generals  Wilkinson  and 
Hampton,  consisting  of  from  eight  to  ten  thousand 
men  each,  would  take  up  their  winter  quarters  at 
Montreal.  These  troops,  however,  were  formida- 
ble only  in  numbers,  and  possessed  no  qualities 
which  could  enable  them  to  stand  the  shock  of  ar 
mies  under  British  discipline. 

The  attack  on  Lower  Canada  was  to  ho  made 
by  a  combined  operation  of  the  armies  of  the  nortH 
and  of  the  centre,  and  while  the  former,  under 
genera  Hampton,  marched  on  Montreal  from  Lake 
Champlam,  taking  the  route  of  the  Chateaugaj; 
he  la  tcr,  under  general  Wilkinson,  was  directed 
to  sail  down  the  St.  Lawrence  for  the  same  desti- 
nation.    On  the  morning  of  the  aist  of  October 
general  Hampton  crossed  the  line  of  separation 
between   the   British   dominions   and  the   United 
.,  — ,,,  v^-wsjii-oiiovu  ms  movements  alon^  tie 


ASB  OBZAT  BBITAIH.  ff 

banks  of  the  river.    After  some  days  snent  i„  .om- 
I-  ctn,g  Ms  arrangements  and  bringing  "up  his  store, 
ami  artillery,  he  advanced  on  the  25th  in  front  of 
the  British  position,  which  he  found  supported  by 
a  wood   of  some  miles  in  extent,  formed  into  an 
entire  abat.s.  and  filled  by  a  succession  of  breast- 
works,  well  supplied  with   ordnance.*     Karly  in 
the  forenoon  of  the  26th,  the  American  light  troops 
and  cavalry  were  discovered  advancing  on  both 
bank,  of  the  Chateaugay.     Lieutenant-Lonel  De 
Salaberry.  who  had  the  command  of  the  advanced 
IHcquets  of  the  British  army,  composed  of  the  light 
infantry  company  of  the  Canadian  fencibles.  and 
t«^  companies  of  voltigeurs,  stationed  on  the  north 
side  01  the  river    made  so  excellent  a  disposition 
of  his  little  band,  as  to  check  the  advance  of  the 
enemy's  principal  column,  led  by  general  Hampton 
m  person,  and  accompanied  by  brigadier-general 

colonel  M'Carty,  was  in  like  manner  arrested  in 
-ts  progress  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  by  the 
spirited  advance  of  the  right  flank  company  of  the 
hud  battalio,  of  the  embodied  militia,  under  cap- 
tarn  Daly,  supporte.l  by  captain  Bruyer's  company 
of  Chateaugay  chasseurs.     In  the  course  of  the 
day  the  enemy  rallied  repeatedly,  and  returned  to 
the  attack:   but  all  their  eff.rts  proved  unavailing: 
and  on  the  ap,,roach  of  evening  they  were  obliged 
Jnally  to  reti  e,   being  foiled  on  all  points  by  a 
bandful  ol  me„.  who,  by  their  determined  braver," 

,i„f    1  ./       ^     ""■"  °-  """■^  ^lauipion  ro  tho  Secretary  at  Wai- 
dated  Four  Corner.,  November  1.  1813.  ' 


88 


THB  UNITED  STATES 


maintained  their  position  in  the  face  of  an  enemy 
twenty  times  their  number.  ' 

The  governor-general,   having  fortunately  ar- 
rived  on  the  scene  of  action  shortly  after  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  enemy,  witnessed  the  gallant  can- 
duct  of  the  troops  on  this  glorious  occasion,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  to  award,   on  the  spot,  that 
praise  which  had  become  so  justly  their  due.  From 
the  report  of  prisoners  taken  from  the  enemy  in 
the  affair  of   Chateaugay,   it   appeared   that  the 
American  force  consisted  of  seven  thousand  infan- 
try, and  two  hundred  cavalry,  with  ten  field  pieces? 
while  the  British  advanced  force,  actually  engaged, 
did  not  exceed  three  hundred!*     The  entire  loss 
of  both  armies,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing, 
according  to  the  official  dispatches  transmitted  to 
their  governments  by  the  hostile  generals,  was  esti- 
mated at  seventy-five  men,  of  which  the  British 
lost  only  twenty,  five;  and  the  Americans  not  more 
than  double  that  number.     After  this  memorable 
repulse,  the  American  commander  called  a  council 
of  war,  at  which  it  was  determined,  with  more 
calculating  prudence  than  military  enterprize,  that 
under  existing  circumstances,  it  was  not  prudent 
to  renew  the  attack;  but  that  on   the  contrary,  the 
army   should    "immediately    return,    by    orderly 
marches,  to  such  a  position  as  would  secure  their 
communication   with  the  United  States,  either  to 
retire  into  winter  quarters,  or  to  be  ready  to  strike 
below."  (21) 


•  Despatch  from  Sir  George  Prevost  to  Earl  Buthurst,  dated 
Montreal,  October  50,  1»1J. 


I 


AND  »R£AT  BRITAIN. 


89 


The  American  troops,  engaged  in  the  expedition 
under  general  Wilkinson,  were  not  more  fortunate 
in  the  enterprizc  upon  which  they  had  now  enter- 
ed than  their  compatriots  of  the  northern   army. 
Early  in  the  month  of  October,  general  Wilkinson! 
at  the  head  t.f  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men,  em- 
bai'ked   at   Fort  George,  on   board  the   Ontario 
flotilla,  consisting  of  upwards  of  three   hundred 
vessels,  and  liaving  entered  the  St.  Lawrence,  on 
the  2d  of  November,  arrived  on  the  6th  within  a 
few  miles  of  the  port  of  Prescot.    The  powder  and 
stores  were  here  landed  on  the  Canadian  side  of 
the  river,  to  be  transported  by  land,  under  cover 
of  the  night,  beyond  the  British  batteries;  and  all 
the  troops  were  debarked  to  march  at  the  same 
hour  to  a  bay  two  miles  below  Prescot.     The  vigi- 
lance of  the  British  troops,  to  which  the  enemy 
bears  repeated  testimony,  was  not  to  be  surprised; 
and  in  this  attempt  to  pass  the  fortress  of  Prescot,' 
the  American  armada  was  doomed  to  sustain  a' 
heavy  and  destructive  cannonade;*  while  the  army 
on  shore,  under  the  command  of  brigadier-general 
Boyd,  was  briskly  assailed  by  the  garrison  with 
shot  and  shells.     The  advance  of  the  enemy,  sub- 
sequent to  the  passage  of  Prescot,  was  retarded  by 
the  menacing  position  of  the  British  army,  which 
hung  upon   his  rear,  and  by  the  difficulties  of  the 
navigation  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  which  exposed  his 
flotilla  to  continually  increasing  dangers.     Having 
anticipated  the  probability  of  the  American  gov! 


iicspaicitf  s  from  sir  ueorge  Frevost. 


do 


TBffl  VKxTED  STATES. 


ernment  sending  its  whole  force  from  Lake  Ontario 
towards  Montreal,  the  British  governor-general 
had  ordered  a  corps  of  observation,  consisting  of 
the  remains  of  the  49th  regiment,  the  second  bat- 
talion  of  the  89tli,  and  three  companies  of  volti- 
geurs,  with  a  division  of  gun-boats,  the  whole  un- 
der the  command  of  lieutenant-colonel  Mojirison, 
of  the  89th  regiment,  to  advance  from  Kingston, 
and  to  follow  the  movements  of  general  Wilkinson's 
army.     On  the  i  ith,  this  corps  of  observation  was 
attacked  at  Williamsberg  by  a  part  of  the  Ameri- 
can force,  under  general  Boyd,  consisting  of  two 
brigades  of  infantry,  and  a  regimeri  of  cavalry. 
About  half  past  two  the  action  Lccame  general, 
when  the  enemy  endeavoured,  by  moving  forward 
a  brigade  from  the  right,  to  turn  the  British  left, 
but  was  repulsed  by  the  89th  forming  in  potence 
with  the  49th,  and  both  corps  moving  forward, 
occasionally  firing  by  platoons.    Finding  himself 
unsuccessful  on  the  left,  the  next  efforts  of  the  ene- 
my  were  directed  against  the  right,  but  he  was  re- 
ceived in  so  gallant  a  manner  by  the  companies  of 
the  89th,  under  captain  Barnes,  and  by  a  well  di- 
rected fire  from  the  artUlery,  that  he  quickly  re- 
treated, leaving  one  of  his  guns  in  the  hands  of 
the  British.     Colonel  Morrison,  in  his  turn,  now 
became  the  assailant,  and  the  enemy  concentrated 
his  force  to  prevent  his  advance;  but  such  was  the 
steady  countenance,  and  well  directed  fire  of  the 
troops,  and  the  artillery,  that  about  half  past  four, 
the  Americans  gave  way  on  all  sides,  and  aban- 
doned  their  strong  position.    By  a  judicious  move- 


i^^ 


AND  GBEAT  BRITAIN. 


91 


ment  made  at  this  moment  by  lieutenant-colonel 
Pearson,  their  light  infantry,  which  had  been  lef 
to  cover  their  retreat,  was  dislodged,  and  tlie  Bri- 
tish detachment  for  the  night  occupied  the  ground 
from  which  the  enemy  had  ignobly  suffered  them- 
selves  to  be  driven.     Colonel  Morrison,  in  his  re- 
port of  the  battle  of  V'Uiamsberg,  very  justly  re- 
marks, that  every  man  uid  his  duty;  and  that  no 
stronger  evidence  can  be  given  of  their  merits  than 
that  which  is  found  in  the  fact,  that  the  army  of  the 
victors  did  not  exceed  eight  hundred  men;  while 
that  of  the  vanquished  amounted  to  from  three  to 
four  thousand.*    The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  kill- 
ed and  wounded,  amounted  to  three  hundred  and 
thirty-nine,f  including  upwards  of  one  hundred 
prisoners.     On  the  side  of  the  British,  the  loss,  in 
relation  to  the  number  engaged,  was  heavy,  and 
amounted  to  one  hundred   and  eighty,  including 
twelve  missing.:^     Sir  George  Prevost,  in  his  des- 
patches relating  to  the  repeated  attempts  of  the 
Americans  to  invade  his  majesty's  Canadian  domin- 
ions, dwells  with  exultation  on  the  loyalty  and  ac- 
tive zeal  displayed  by  all  classes  of  the  inhabitants; 
and  general  Wilkinson  bears  ample  testimony  to 
the  same  important  fact,  by  asserting,  that  the  hos- 

•  General  Wilkinson,  in  his  despatch  to  the  Secretary  at  War, 
dated  French  Mills,  November  16,  1813,  states,  rather  loosely, 
that  the  American  force  engaged,  did  not  exceed  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  men;  while  the  strength  of  the  British  is  estimat- 
ed at  one  thousand  five  hundred,  or  one  thousand  six  hundi-ed, 
exclusive  of  the  militia. 

J-  General  Wilkinson's  despatches.  ^  Colonel  Morrison's 

official  report. 


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Hiotographic 

Sciences 
Corpomiion 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  M580 

(716)  872-4503 


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92 


^HE  UNITED  STATES 


«1«1'h*'"''"'"''  '"'""'"»'"»  of  the  country  was  ac 
live  and  universal.  (22) 

The  American  army,  depressed  by  their  disas- 
ters, re-embarked  the  whole  of  their  forces  on  the 
13th,  and  crossed  the  St.  Lawrence  to  St.  Regis 
and  Salmon  River,  on  their  own  shores,  not  leaviL 
a  man  on  the  Canadian  territory,  except  such  as 
were  prisoners.    On  the  preceding  day,  general 
Wilkinson,  who  had  been  confined  to  his  bed  dur- 
ing the  principal  part  of  the  voyage  down  the  St. 
Lawrence,  received  a  despatch  from  general  Hamp- 
ton, in  which  that  officer  declined  to  join  bis  troops 
to  the  army  of  the  centre,  on  account  of  the  limit- 
ed suppfy  df  provisions,  intimating,  however,  that 
he  should  retire  to  Platteburg,  with  the  inteutlon 
of  opening  a  communication  between  the  two  armies 
lower  down  tlie  river.   This  letter  general  Wilkin- 
•on  considered  as  a  refusal  on  the  part  of  general 
Hampton  to  co-operate;  and  at  a  council  of  war, 
consMting  of  the  principal  officers  of  his  army,  it 
was  determined,  «that  the  attack  „„  Montreal 
should  be  abandoned  for  the  present  season,"  and 
that  the  army  should  go  into  winter  quarters.    It 
would  be  an  useless  expenditure  of  time  to  enter 
into  the  controversy  between  these  two  generals: 
but  it  was  strongly  surmised  in  the  United  States' 
that  the  battles  of  Chateaogay  and  Williamsbcrg 
had  abated  their  military  ardour,  and  that  in  reality 
their  dissensions  might  be  traced  to  this  cause,  (ae) 
The  signal  defeats,  experienced  by  the  American 
armie^  m  Canada,  having  relieved  both  provinces 
from  the  pressure  of  the  invaders,  the  attention  of 


AND  6R£4T  BRITAIN. 


93 


J^ 


the  British  army,  under  major-general  Vincent, 
and  lieutenant-general  Drummond,  was  directed 
to  the  Niagara  frontier^  and  on  the  lOth  of  I>e- 
cember,  colonel  Murray  was  ordered  to  advance, 
for  the  purpose  of  checking  a  system  of  plunder 
organized  by  the  enemy  against  the  loyal  inhabi- 
tants of  that  district.  Notwithstanding  the  inclem- 
ency of  the  weather,  the  Biitish  force  arrived  in, 
the  neighbourhood  of  fort  George,  in  time  to  coib^^ 
pel  the  enemy,  uncjer  general  M'Clure,  to  abandon, 
the  whole  of  the  British  side  of  the  Niagara  fron- 
tier,-  but  not  till  that  general  had  stained  the  char- 
acter of  his  country,  by  the  wanton  conflagration 
of  the  town  of  Newark,  which,  under  the  pretence 
of  securing  the  American  frontier,  but  in  violation 
of  the. laws  of  nations,  he  reduced  to  a  heap  o£ 
ashes. 

The  enemy,  no  longer  secure  within  his  own  do^ 
minions,  abandoned  Lewistown  on  the  advance  of 
major-general  Ri&U,  leaving  in  the  ))lace  a  consid- 
erable supply  of  small  arms  and  ammunition,,  with: 
^out  two  hundred  barrels  of  flour^ 
»Early  in  the  morning  of  the  J  9th  of  December,., 
colonel  Murray,  at  the  head  of  a.  detachment  of  the 
lOQth  regiment,  the  grenadier  company  of  the 
royals,  and  the^  flank  companies  of  the  41st  regi. 
ment,  advanced,  to  fort  Niagara,  where,  having 
surprised  the  centries  on  the  glacis  of  the  fortress, 
the  watch-word  was  obtained,  and  the  place  carried 
in  a  few  minutes,  with  the  trifling  loss  of  six  men 
killed,  and  five  wounded.    The  loss  of  the  garri- 
son was  much  more  considerable.  Sixty-five  of  their.- 


04 


THE  VNITBD  8TATBS 


number  were  iilJed,  fourteen  wounded,  and  three 
hundred  and  forty-four  made  prisoners.*    By  this 

fh-*!*"''''"'!""'"''  twenty-seven  pieces  of  cannon, 
three  thousand  stand  of  arms,  a  number  of  riiJes 
and  the  store-houses,  well  stocked  with  clothing 
and  camp  equipage  of  every  description,  feU  into 
^e  hands  of  the  victors.     Captain  Leonid,  of  Z 
artillery  servico,  to  whom  the  command  of  the  gL 
rwon  haa  been  intrusted  by  general  M'Clure,  had, 
OB  the  evening  before  the  assault,  retired  to  his 
country  residence,  at  a  distance  of  two  miles,  and 
a  royal  salute,  announcing  the  surrender  of  the 
fortress,  gave  this  officer  the  first  intimation  of  the 
surrender  pf  the  garrison  committed  to  his  charge 
On  the  same  day  that  the  fortress  oi  Nlajrarii 
was  carried  by  colonel  Murray.  Lewlstown  sur- 
rendered without  resistance  to  the  forces  under 
major-general  Riall.   During  the  night  of  the  30th, 
that  general  crossed  the  Niagara,  for  the  purpose 
of  attackmg  the  enemy  at  Black  Hock  and  Bumjo, 
at  the  head  of  a  detachment,  consistir-  of  four 
compares  of  the  king-,  wgiment,  the  light  compa- 
ny of  the  89th,  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  *m 
regiment,  and  the  grenadiers  of  the  looth  reri. 
mentj  with  a  small  body  of  militia  vohnteew,  and 
a  number  of  Indian  warriors.    At  day-l^ak  on 
tte  following  morning,  the  king's  regiment,  .ml 
light  company  of  the  89th,  moved  forward^  fte 
pnadiers  of  the  41st  and  the  lOOth  wgiments  being 
m  reserve.   On  the  approach  of  the  British  troops! 

•  CoIo«l  Muroy,  „port  to  s«n«na  Dnnamond.  d«ted  fort 
"'»«M».  December  19,  Ml  J.  ""-"no,  «Keo  io« 


•0m- 


^ 


on  of the 
)  charge. 
Niagara 
mn  sur- 
)s   under 
the  SOth, 
purpose 
Bafftdo, 
of  four 
compa- 
the  4t6t 
;li  regi- 
vs,  and 
eak  on 
^t,  and 
i*d|  flie 
is  being 
troops, 

Ated  fort 


AWD  OBEAT  BBITAIIT. 

the  enemy  opened  a  very  heavy  fire  of  cannon  and 
musketry  on  the  royal  Scots,  under  lieutenant- 
colonel  Gordon,  who  was  directed  to  land  above 
Black  Rock,  for  the  purpose  of  turning  his  posi- 
tion, but  who,  owing  to  the  boats  in  which  the 
troops  were  embarked  having  grounded,  was  not  able 
to  land  in  sufficient  time  to  accomplish  that  object. 
The  king's  and  the  89th,  having,  in  the  mean  time, 
gained  the  town,  commenced  a  spirited  attack  up- 
on the  Americans,  under  general  Hall.    The  posi- 
tion, which  was  strong,  was  for  some  time  sup- 
ported with  much  bravery,*  but  such  was  the  gal- 
lant and  determined  advance  of  the  British  troops, 
that  he  was  at  length  driven  from  his  batteries, 
and  pursued  to  the  town  of  Buffalo,  abof  vl  two  miles 
distant.    General  Hall,  finding  his  force  now  swell- 
ed to  upwards  of  two  thousand  men,  again  attempt- 
ed to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  advancing  columns; 
but  finding  all  his  efltorts  ineffectual,  his  troops  fled 
in  disorder,  and  betook  themselves  to  the  woods. 
Eight  pieces  of  ordnance,  and  one  hundred  and 
thirty  prisoners,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British, 
and  the  enemy's  loss  in  killed  and  wounded,  was 
estimated  at  from  tly*ee  to  four  hundred. 

General  Riall  now  proceeded  to  execute  the  ulte- 
rior objects  of  the  expedition;  and  colonel  Robin- 
son  was  detached  to  destroy  a  sloop  and  two 
schooners,  part  of  the  Ontario  flotilla,,  which  lay  a 
little  below  the  town.  The  town  itself,  the  inhabi- 
tants having  previously  abandoned  it,  and  the 
whole  of  the  public  stoics,  consisting  of  a  consid- 
erable quantity  of  clothing,  spirits,  and  flour,  which 


96 


THB  CMrED  STATES,  &c. 


the  British  army  had  not  the  means  of  convevin- 
awa,.  were  then  set  on  fire,  and  totally  consumed! 
A  similar  fate  awaited  Black  Rock,  and  on  the 
evemng  of  the  same  day  that  village  was  consigned 
to  the  flames.  *      , 

These  terrible  inflictions  were  not  deemed  suffl- 
qent  to  retaliate  the  destruction  of  the  town  of 
Newark,  and  in  obedience  to  the  further  instruc 
tions  of  general  Drummond,  Lieut,  colonel  Gordon, 
with  a  detachment  of  the  .9th  and  89th  regiments^ 
moved  down  the  river  to  fort  Niagara,  and  des- 
troyed  tl^,  remaining  cover  of  the  enemy  upon  this 
frontier.*     A  dreadful  scene  of  desolation  now 
presented  ^tself.    All  the  towns  and  villages  o„Z 
Amencan  side  of  the  communicating  river  betwe^ 
lakes  Erie  and  Ontario  were  destroyed,  and  the 
concluding  scenes  of  the  campaign,  of  the  present 
year,  assumed  the  character  of  a  war  pf  extermi 
natu>n-a  species  of  contest  abhorrent  to  every 
cmlized  mind,  and  fit  only  for  the  savage  auxilia! 
nes  of  the  two  exasperated  belligerents.  (23) 


.5a-w  • 


m 


©HAiPi^iiB  rm. 


Amidst  partial  reverses.,  the  campaign  of  the  pre- 
sent  year  had  proved  glorious  by  land  to  Great 
Britain.    On  the  ocean,  the  skill  and  bravery  of  the 
hostile  nations  were  more  equally  balanced,  but  the 
ascendancy  inclined,  unquestionably,  to  that  power 
who  had  so  long  reigned  the  unrivalled  mistress  of 
the  waves.    Her  successes  were,  however,  by  no 
means  unchequered,  even  on  this  element^  and  the 
first  action  on  the  ocean  between  British  and  Ameri- 
can  vessels,  in  the  year  1813,  terminated  decidedly 
in  favour  of  the  latter  power.  On  the  24th  of  March, 
the  American  brig  Hornet,  captain  Lawrence,  and 
the  English  brig  Peacock,  captain  William  Peake, 
met  at  sea  off  Demarara,  and  at  half  past  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  they  passed  within  range  of  eacli 
other's  guns,  and  exchanged  broadsides.  Observing 
the  British  captain  in  the  act  of  wearing,  captain 
Lawrence  bore  up  and  received  his  starboard  broad- 
side, after  which  he  approached  close  on  the  star- 
board quarter,  and  in  that  position  kept  up  such  a 
heavy  and  well-directed  fire,  that  in  less  than  fifteen 
minutes,  the  Peacock,  being  rendered  unmanagea- 
ble, was  obliged  to  strike  her  flag.    With  much  diffi- 
culty, the  Americans  succeeded  in  bringing  their 
prize  to  anchor;  but  before  the  prisoners  could  be 
removed,  she  went  down,  rarcvin^  with  iu»"  *ks- 

'  — *   ■*■■•*        ='  £--•       £«^£        wSSSS  "^ 


^ 


m 


M  TpB  UNITED  STATES 

teen  of  her  own  crew,  and  three  of  the  American 
aaUoro.    Ca{>tain  Peake,  and  four  of  his  crew  were 
found  dead  on  board  the  sinking  vessel,  and  thirty- 
three  others  were  wounded.    The  loss  of  the  Amer- 
icans was  trifling  in  comparison,-  and  in  the  return 
made  by  captain  Lawrence  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navyt  it  is  stated,  that  the  number  of  killed  and 
wounded  did  not  exceed  Ave  men,  of  whom  one  on- 
ly  was  kiUed.    The  Peacock  is  represented  as  one 
©f  the  finest  vessels  of  her  class  in  the  British  na- 
vy;  and  in  size,  guns,  and  crew,  the  combatants 
were  nearly  equal.    On  the  i-etum  of  captain  Law- 
rence to  America,  he  was  received  with  every  pos- 
sible mark  of  distinction;  and  as  a  testimony  of  the 
estimation  in  which  his  tdents  and  bravery  were 
held  by  his  government,  he  was  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  Chesapeake  frigate,  *hcn  Ijinff  in 
the  port  of  Boston. 

The  time  now  approached  in  which  the  British 
flag  was  to  recover  a  large  share  of  ite  accustomed 
honours  from  that  foe  with  whom  i1»  glories  had 
suffered  a  temporary  eclipse.   Ever  since  the  month 
of  February,  captain  Broke,  of  the  Shannon,  had 
been  cruising  in  the  bay  of  Boston,  in  company  with 
the  Tenedos,  in  hopes  that  the  Chesapeake  would 
come  out  of  the  harbour;  but  the  enemy  not  choos- 
ing to  encounter  two   British    frigates,   captain 
Broke  directed  the  Tenedos  to  cruise  at  a  distance 
from  the  coast,  and  not  to  rejoin  him  till  after  the 
the  expiration  of  a  month.     In  order  that  captain 
Lawrence  might  be  informed  of  the  separation  of 
the  vessels,  and  be  induced,  in  consequence,  to 


I 


AHD  OBBAT  BBITAIir. 


99 


put  to  sea,  the  Shannon  stood  close  into  Boston 
%ht-hou8e^  and  hoisted  the  British  colours.  The 
challenge,  conveyed  by  this  posture  of  defence,  cap^ 
tain  Lawrence  was  not  slow  to  accept;  and  at  mid* 
day,  on  the  1st  of  June,  the  Chesapeake  weighed 
anchor,  and  stood  out  of  the  harbour,  to  decide,  as 
it  were,  by  single  combat,  the  contest  between  the 
two  nations  in  maritime  prowess. 

About  twenty-five  minutes  after  five  o'clock,  the 
two  frigates  were  within  musket  shot  of  each  other; 
and  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  a  more  in- 
teresting and  awful  moment.     The  engagement, 
which  was  about  to  commence,  had  few  features  io 
common  with  the  usual  routine  of  sea  fights;  there 
was,  on  the  contrary,  something  chivalrous  in  thQ 
situation  of  the  combatants;  each  commander,  as 
well  as  the  respective  crews,  had  offered  themselves 
as  the  champions  of  their  country's  glory  and  hon- 
our,-  and  by  this  feeling,  it  may  be  supposed,  that 
the  Americans  were  more  particularly  influenced, 
as  the  engagement  was  about  to  commence  within 
sight  of  their  own  shores,  which  were  lined  by  the 
inhabitants,  who  could  observe,  with  ease,  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  a  combat  so  interesting.     Captain 
Broke  and  his  crew,  on  their  part,  must  have  ex- 
perienced  feelings  little  less  stimulating  to  heroic 
enterprise;  they  had  sought  an  opportunity  of  prov- 
ing to  the  world,  that  the  sun  of  England's  nava! 
glory  was  not  yet  set.    l^hey  had  not  merely  to  sus- 
tain, they  had,  in  some  measure,  to  retrieve  and 
win  back  the  glory  and  honour  of  their  country, 

XheV  had  to  nrnvA  flinmcfAlmrAi^  ,.,^^4.1 i>  XI  ^ 

,    —  ^ — ,,^  v«-wMXKrv» T wa  wvrhiij  oi  Ciiat  COUn- 


100 


TUB  ViriTBD  IT4TB» 


try  which  had  gflven  birth  to  Nelson;  and  they  did 
prove  themselves  worthy  of  this  high  distinction. 
The  Uheaapeake  frigate,  on  her  advance,  was  ma- 
Bceuvred  with  so  much  skill  as  to  call  for  the  admi- 
ration  of  the  British  captain;  aiid  three  American 
ensigns  waved  from  her  masts,  on  one  of  which  was 
inscribed,  "Free  Trade  and  Sailors'  Rights/'    At 
half  past  five,  the  enemy  placed  himself  on  the  star- 
board side  of  the  Shannon,  and  the  battle  began. 
After  the  exchange  of  two  or  three  broadsides,  the 
enemy's  frigate  fell  on  board  the  Shannon,  and  they 
became  locked  in  each  other's  rigging.     Captain 
Broke,  observing  that  the  enemy  Were  flinching 
from  their  guns,  determined  to  bring  the  battle  to 
an  immediate  and  glorious  issue,  and  gave  orders 
Ui  prepare  for  boarding.     Placing  himself  at  the 
head  of  bis  gallant  bands,  appointed  to  that  ser- 
vice, they  instantly  rushed  upon  the  enemy's  decks, 
impelling  every  thing  before  them  with  irresistible 
fury.    The  enemy  made  a  desperate,  but  disorder- 
ly resistance;  and  the  firing  was  continued  at  all  the 
gangways,  and  between  the  tops;  but  in  two  min- 
utes  they  were  llriven,  sword  in  hand,  from  every 
post.   The  American  flag  was  hauled  down,  and  the 
proud  old  British  union  floated  tiiumphantly  over 
it.     In  another  minute  the  enemy  ceased  firingfrom 
below,  and  called  for  quarter;  and  the  whole  ser- 
vice was  acliieved  in  fifteen  minutes  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  action. 

No  terms  can  adequately  express  the  merits  of 
the  valiant  oflicers  and  crew  of  the  Shannon;  the 
calm  courage  they  displayed  during  the  cannonade. 


ABO  OUBAT  BHITAM. 


101 


and  the  tremendous  precision  of  their  fire,  could  on- 
ly be  equalled  by  the  ardour  with  which  they  rush- 
ed to  the  assault.    Nor  was  the  courage  of  the 
Americans  much  less  conspicuous}  their  bravo  cap- 
tain, who  received  a  musket  ball  through  his  body, 
in  the  heat  of  the  action,  exclaimed,  as  he  was  car- 
ned  below,  "Don't  give  up  the  sbipj"  and  his  prin- 
cipal  solace,  while  suffering  the  most  excruciating 
pain  from  bis  wounds,  was  derived  from  the  hope 
that  hM  colours  should  never  be  struck.    But  at  the 
moment  when  these  orders  were  sent  up  by  thesur 
geon,  every  officer  on  the  upper  deck  was  either 
killed  or  wounded,  and  the  struggle  bad  ceased.  I„ 
the  very  moment  of  victory.  Captain  Broke  was  se- 
vei-ely  wounded  in  his  head  by  a  sabre,  while  exert- 
ing  himself  to  save  two  Americans  from  the  fury  of 
1.18  men.    Of  his  gallant  seamen  and  marines;  he 
had  twenty-three  slain,  and  fifty-six  wounded}  while 
the  loss  of  the  enemy  amounted  to  forty-seven  kill 
ed,  and  ninety-three  wounded.  From  a  comparative' 

hat  the  Shannon  mounted  fifty-three  g„„s,  while 
the  Chesapeake  had  only  forty-nine;  but  if  the  su 
penority  in  guns  was  on  the  side  of  the  English 
the  Americans  enjoyed  a  still  higher  advantage  in' 
her  number  of  menj  and  the  Chesapeake  had  to  op- 
pose her  full  compliment  of  four  hundred  and  forty 

rh?h"fi.'^«!"'"  *'"  *'"■'"'  ''""•'"''  ''"'•  tWrty  with 
which  the  Shannon  entered  the  action 

The  wounds  of  captain  Lawrence  proved  mortal 
four  days  after  the  battle;  when  his  body  was 
shrouded  in  the  colons  nf  i.io  „i.:_    ..  .      '     ^ 

,.  ...=  oM,|i,  iinu  conveyed 


102 


THS  UNITED  8TATEI 


to  Halifax  for  intorment.    His  funeral  obsequies 
were  celebrated  with  appropriate  ceremonials.  His 
pall  was  supported  by  the  oldest  captains  in  the 
British  service  then  at  Halifax,  and  the  naval  offi. 
cers  crowded  to  yield  the  last  honors  to  a  man 
whom  they  considered  now  no  longer  in  the  light 
df  a  foe»  but  as  an  honour  to  his  profession.   There 
is  a  generous  sympathy  in  the  brave  that  knows 
no  distinction  of  clime  or  nation.    Tliey  honour  in 
each  other  that  of  which  they  feel  proud  in  them- 
selves.   The  group,  that  congregated   round  the 
grave  of  Capt.  Lawrence,  presented  a  scene  worthy 
of  the  heroic  days  of  chivalry.     It  was  a  complete 
triumph  of  the  nobler  feelings  over  the  savage  pas- 
sions of  war.    The  conflict  of  arms  is  ferocious; 
and  triumph  frequently  does  but  engender  more 
deadly  hostilities;  but  the  contest  of  magnanimity 
calls  forth  the  nobler  feelings  of  the  soul,  and  the 
contest  is  over  the  affections. 

The  capture  of  the  Chesapeake,  under  such  ani- 
mating and  glorious  circumstances,  could  not  fail, 
in  some  degree,  to  re-establish  in  the  minds  even 
of  the  desponding  their  confidence  in  British  na- 
val valour  and  skill;  and  an  engagement  which 
took  place  in  the  month  of  August,  though  not  of 
so  brilliant  a  nature,  nor  brought  to  so  speedy  an 
issue,  ccmtributed  to  the  same  ( ffect.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  14th  of  August,  captain  Maples,  of  his 
majesty's  sloop  Pelican,  while  cruising  in  St 
George's  Channel,  for  the  protection  of  the  trade, 
observe<:  an  American  vessel  in  full  sail,  which 
slackened  on  her  approach,  and  prepared  for  ac- 


m 


And  gukat  Britain. 


103 


tion.     As  Boon  as  the  Pelican  came  alongside  of 
licr  antagonist,  tlie  seamen  gave  three  cheers,  and 
the  action   commenced.     For  forty-threo  minutes 
the  engagement  was  kept  up  witii  great  spirit  on 
hoth  sides;  and  though  during  this  time  the  Pelican 
evidently  had  the  advantage,  it  was  by  no  means 
of  a  decisive  nature.     Captain  Maples,  finding  his 
crew  anxious  to  come  to  close  quarters,  laid  the 
Pelican  alongside  of  his  adversai'y,  and  gave  or- 
ders to  board  her;  hut  when  the  crew  were  in  the 
act  of  executing  the  commands  of  their  captain, 
the  American  struck  her  colours.    The  vessel  prov- 
ed to  be  the  Argus  sloop  of  war,  captain  Allen,  of 
twenty  guns,  and  a  complement  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty -seven  men.     Her  commander  fouglit 
his  ship  nobly,  and  was  wounded  early  in  the  ac- 
tion so  severely,  that  he  was  obliged  to  suffer  am- 
putation of  his  left  thigh,  and  died  the  day  after 
the  battle.     In  point  of  force,  the  two  sloops  were 
nearly  equal,  and  perhaps  the  circumstance  which 
most   strongly   indicated   the   relative   skill   with 
which  the  battle  was  fought,  was  tlie  loss  on  each 
side:  on  board  the  Pelican  there  were  only  two 
men  killed,  and  six  wounded;  while  on  board  the 
Argus,  the  killed  and  wounded  amounted  to  about 
forty.* 


•  Despatch  from  Capt.  \faple8  to  vice-admiral  Thornboroiigh. 
In  a  letter  from  John  Hawker,  esq.  many  years  American  vice- 
consul  m  England,  dated  from  Plymouth,  August  19,  1813,  and 
addressed  to  general  Allen,  the  father  of  the  captain,  it  is  stlted, 
that  the  loss  on  board  the  Argiw,  amounted  only  to  six  killed', 
and  twelve  wounded. 


104 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


But  the  absolute  superiority  of  th«;  British  by 
sea  was  not  yet  placed  on  so  firrn  a  footing  as  not 
to  be  liable,  in  their  engagements  with  the  Ameri- 
cans, to  vicissitudes;  and  those  who,  from  the  re- 
sult of  the  action  between  Ihe  Shannon  and  the 
Chesapeake,  looked  for  victory  a«  a  matter  of 
course,  whenever  the  vessds  were  of  equal  force, 
wrre  doomed  to  be  disappointed.  On  the  5th  of 
September,  the  American  brig  Enterprize,  lieuten- 
ant  Burrows,  and  bis  Britannic  majesty's  brig 
Boxer,  captain  Blythe,  met  at  the  entrance  of  Ports- 
mouth bay,  off  tlie  coast  of  tlie  United   States 

The  English  captain,  when  h«.  observed  the  Ameri- 
can vessel  standing  towards  him,  fired  a  shot  as  a 
challenge,  and  hoisted  three  British  ensigns,  which 
he  ordered  to  be  nailed  to  the  mast.    About  two 
o'clock,  the  American  captain,  having  obtained  th^ 
weather-gage,  hoisted,  in  his  turn,  three  ensigns, 
and  iired  a  shot  at  tlie  Bo.ier;  this  she  did  not 
deign  to  return  till  she  came  within  half  pistol  shot, 
when  her  crew  gave  three  cheers,  and  commenced 
the  action  by  iiring  her  starboard  ^roads'de.    The 
action  now  became  most  obstinate,-  and  at  twenty 
minutes  past  three,  the  American  captain  received 
a  ball  in  his   body,  and  fell.      He  refu-sed  to  be 
carried  below,  but  raising  his   head,  requested, 
even  in  the  agonies  of  death,  that  his  flag  might 
never  be  struck.     Nor  was  his  adversary  less  dis- 
tinguished for  his  heroic  bravery.     About  ten  min- 
utes after  the  American  commandant  received  his 
mortal  wound,  lieutenant  MTni]    ^n  x,ri. 


command,  of  the  vessel  devolved,  ordered  his  ship 


AND  GREAT   BRITAIN. 


105 


to  be  laid  on  board  the  Boxer,  for  the  purpose  of 
raking  her  with  a  starboard  broadside.     Captain 
Blythe  hul  now  fallen,*  and  the  situation  of  the  ves- 
sels was  such,  that  the  Enterprize  could  command 
any  situation  which  it  might  be  deemed  advisahle 
to  take;  while  the  Boxer  could  neither  be  manceu- 
vred  with  skill,  nor  fought  with  advantage.    The 
raking  fire  tc  which  she  was  exposed,  continued  to 
be  poured  into  her  till  forty-five  minutes  past  three, 
when  her  crew,  find  ng  further  resistance  unavail- 
ing, called  forquarterj  as  their  colours,  being  nail- 
ed to  the  mast,  could  not  be  hauled  down.    The 
loss  of  the  Boxer  was  much  more  considerable  than 
that  of  the  American  brigj  and  the  hull,  sails,  and 
rigging^  of  tiie  former  were  nearly  cut  to  pieces; 
while  the  latter,  though  injured  in  her  spars  and 
rigging,  was  left  in  a  condition  to  have  commenc- 
ed another  action  cf  tiie  same  kind  immediately 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Enterprize  and  Boxer 
at  Portland,  the  bodies  of  the  two  commanding 
officers,  captain  Blythc,  and  lieutenant  Burrows, 
were  brought  on  shore  in  barges,  rowed  at  minute 
strokes  by  the  masters  of  ships,  accompanied  by 
most  of  the  boats  and  barges  in  tlie  harbour,  while 
minute  guns  were  fired  from  the  two  vessels.  A 
grand  procession  was  then  formed  on  shore,  and 
the  interment  took  place  with  all  the  honours  that 
th3  civil  and  military  authorities  of  tlie  place,  and 
the  great  body  of  people,  could  bestow. 


'■+■ 


In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1813,  the  Chesa- 
peake and  Delaware  bays  were  declared  by  the 
British  government  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade, 
and  a  squadron,  under  the  command  of  admiral 
Warren,  was  stationed  off  the  American  coast,  to 
seal  up  these  great  inlets  of  the  United  States.  In 
the  month  of  May,  rear-admiral  Cockburn,  with  a 
light  squadron  under  his  command,  was  sent  up 
the  Chesapeake,  to  carry  on  a  coasting  warfare, 
and  to  render  the  government  and  the  inhabitants 
of  America  sensible  of  the  danger  of  rousing  the 
indignation  of  the  British  nation.  The  villages  of 
Frenchtown,  Havre-de-grace,  Georgetown,  and 
Fredericktown,  situated  near  the  head  of  the  Ches- 
apeake, were  seized  upon  and  destroyed,  and  con- 
siderable injury  was  done  to  the  enemy  by  these 
operations;  but  no  vital  point  was  reached,  nor 
were  any  of  the  great  objects  of  the  war  materially 
promoted.  This  desultory  and  piratical  species  of 
wari^re,  though  always  a  favourite  topic  of  British 
declamation,  seldom  leads  to  any  important  result. 
Its  successes  are  superficial  and  transient;  and 
though  the  suffering  and  alarm  it  inflicts  may  in 
some  measure  dispose  the  minds  of  the  people  of  a 
district  to  peace,  even  this  effect  must  be  oreatl^ 
counteracted  by  the  hatred  and  irritation  which  it 
is  always  sure  to  excite. 


♦   a 


108 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


« J^l  fK        ,      "'  '"  *''"  Mississippi  territory 
ava  led  themselves  of  the  rapture  between  Great 
Britain  and  America  to  indulge  once  more  their 
strong  propensity  for  war,  and  endeavour  tore- 
gain  those  territories  which  the  events  of  former 
contests  bad  wrested  from  them.  Deaf  to  the  warn- 
ing  voice  of  their  most  experienced  chiefs,  the 
Creek  Indians  procured  supplies  of  arms  and  am- 
munition  from  the  Spaniards  in  West  Florida,  and 
declared  war  against  the  United  States.    The  first 
operations  of  the  war  took  place  near  the  Georgia 
frontier,  and  on  the  soth  of  August  fort  Mims  was 
surprise^  by  a.large  body  of  the  savages,  and  the 
garrison,  with  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  of  the 
.nhabitants,  fell  a  sacrifice  to  their  merciless  hos- 
tility.    Of  the  wnole  number  of  persons  in  the 
place,  not  more  than  thirty*  escaped  the  scalping 
knife,  the  flames,  and  the  tomahawk. 
To  revenge  this  massacre,  and  to  strike  terror 

was"  ^f'Tr'  ?  '"■'«'"'''  "^  *■'•'  «"•"•««"  ""»«« 
was  detached,  under  the  command  of  brigadier- 

general  Floyd,-  and  the  mUitia  and  volunt^rs  of 

Tennessee,  under  the  command  of  general  Jackson, 

we^  employed  ii.  the  same  service.    In  the  month 

Sr"  ^t"?"'"'  """^  '■»''«''*  **  Tallushatches, 
Talledega,  Hilhbeetown..  ...d  Autossee,  in  all  of 

^hach^according  to  the  accounts  of  their  enemies, 
the  Indians  were  defeated;  numbers  of  their  chiefs 
and  warriors  were  kiUedj  and  their  villages  con- 
signed to  the  flames.    I„  all  these  engagements 

•  Letter  from  judge  Toulmin,  dated  September  7,  WIS, 


AND  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


109 


they  fought  with  a  fury  peculiar  to  savages,  and 
met  and  inflicted  death  without  giving  or  receiving 
quarter.* 

The  sanguinary  details  of  this  war  of  extermi- 
nation,  present  little  but  a  repitition  of  successes 
on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  and  of  misery  and 
desolation  in  the  devoted  country  of  their  adversa- 
ries.    A  contest  so  uijcqual  could  not  be  of  long 
duration,  and  the  b^le  of  Tallapoosa,  fought  on 
the  snh  of  Marcy  1814,  brought  the  war  to  a 
close,  by  the  destruction  of  almost  all  the  warriors 
of  the  nation  against  which  it  was  waged.     On  the 
morning  of  this  decisive  engagement,  generalJack- 
son  reached  the  crescent  of  the  Tallapoosa,  on  the 
southern  extremity  of  New  Yonka,  where  the   In- 
dians  had  formed  a  kind  of  fortress,  covering  about 
a  hundred  acres  of  ground,  and  rendered,  as  they 
conceived,  impregnable,  by  the  benedictions  of  their 
prophets,  and  the  skill  of  their  warriors.     Tho 
breast-work,  of  this  fortified  peninsula,  was  from 
five  to  eight  feet  in  height,-  and  the  congregated 
warriors   of  Oakfuska,    Oakehagu,  New  Yonka, 
Hillabeea,  the  Fish  Ponds,  and  Eufatua,  formed 
its  garrison.     Having  despatched  general  Coffee  to 
place  himself  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy  by  securing 
the  opposite  banks  of  the  river,  the  commander  of 
the  American  army  determined  to  take  possession 
of  the  breast-work  by  storm,      ^ae  regular  troops, 
led  on  by  colonel  Williams  and  major  Montgomery, 

were  flnnn  in  nnccAQcifin  r\P  fK«  r.,1.r» 1 J.      oj- 

-  -    j^.-^.^-rvutjivrii   xjs.    mix,  rtUVttlH/CU    Uciri  01  tiJC 

•  See  the  official  reports  of  the  American  generals. 


•3 


110 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


works,  when  an  obstinate  contest,  tlirough  the  port 
holes,  musket  to  musket,  took  phice,  and  in  which 
many  of  the  Indian  bullets  became  transfixed  upon 
the  bayonets  of  their  adversaries.      At  length  the 
assailants  succeeded  in  scaling  the  works,   and  the 
event  was  now  no  longer  doubtful.     The  Indians, 
although  they  fought  to  the  last  moment  of  their 
existence,  and  displayed  that  kind  of  bravery  which 
desperation  inspires,  W€re  entirely  routed  and  cut 
to  pieces.     The  margin  of  the  river  was  strewed 
with  their  slain.      Five   hundred  and   fifty   dead 
bodies  laid  upon  the  field,  and  from  two  to  three 
hundrefl  others  were  buried  in  the  water.      Not 
more  than  twenty  escaped;  and  among  the  dead 
was  found  their  famous  prophet,  Monahell,  with 
two  other  prophets  of  less  celebrity.    The  loss  of 
the  Americans  in  killed  and  wounded,  amounted 
to  alfout  two  hundred,  among  the  former  of  whom 
was  major  Montgomery,  and  lieutenants  Sommer- 
ville  and  Moulton. 

This  action,  which  was  continued  for  five  hours, 
and  till  the  exterminating  sword  could  find  no  more 
victims,  terminated  the  Creek  war.  The  Talla- 
poosa king  was  made  prisoner.  Tostahatchee,  king 
of  Hickory,  afterwards  surrendered  himself;  and 
Wetherford,  their  speaker,  seeing  that  all  further 
resistance  was  vain,  ranked  himself  voluntarily 
among  the  captives.*    In  the  month  of  April,  a 

•  In  a  private  interview  with  general  Jackson,  after  the  battle, 

the  intrenid  Wpthprfnrrl  thna  o^m-^ — j  %--..  

.    -    .. >.,,,,,  «..utn.33cu  Ills  sjuHqueror.— — " i 

fought  at  fort  Mims-I  fought  the  Georgian  army-I  did  you  all 

the  injury  I  could.-Had  I  been  supported,  I  would  have  done 


AHO  GBEAT  BRITAIIT. 


Ill 


peace^was  concluded,  and  general  Jackson  with- 
drew bis  forces.  The  terms  of  the  treaty  were 
dictated  by  the  United  States,  and  proceeded  upon 
the  principle  of  indemnity  for  the  past,  and  securi- 
ty for  the  future.  The  victors  were  to  retain  as 
much  of  the  Creek  country  as  would  by  its  sale 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  war;  and  to  guard 
against  futui*e  incursions  from  the  tribes,  the  right 
of  estabiishing  military  posts  along  the  line  of  the 
whole  frontier  was  conceded  to  them.  It  does  not 
appear  by  any  means  clear,  notwithstanding  the 
confident  assertions  to  the  contrary,  that  this  war, 
so  disastrous  to  the  Creeks,  was  instigated  by  the 
British  government,  and  it  is  certain  that  not  a 
single  British  officer  or  soldier  was  found  in  the 
Indian  ranks. 

The  message  of  the  American  president,  at  the 
opening  of  the  congress,  on  the  7th  of  November, 
1813,  announced,  that  Great  Britain  had  declined 
the  offer  made  by  tlie  emperor  Alexander,  to  medi- 
ate the  existing  differenceslietween  that  power  and 
the  United  States;  and  under  such  circumstances, 
the  president  conceived,  that  a  nation  proud  of  its 
rights,  and  conSwioits  of  its  strength,  had  no  choice 
but  in  exertion  of  the  one  in  support  of  the  other. 
The  door  of  negotiation  was  not,  however,  finally 
closed;  for  while  Great  Britain  was  disinclined  to 
commit  the  decision  of  the  question  at  issue,  to  the 
mediation  of  a  power  that,  in  common  with  Ameri- 

you  more.  But  ray  warriors  are  aii  kiiled— I  can  fig-ht  no  longer. 
I  am  sorry  for  the  destniction  of  my  nation— I  am  now  in  your 
power— do  with  me  what  you  please— I  am  a  soldier." 


■m> 


Ud 


THE  UWITBD  STATES,  &C. 


ca,  might  be  disposed  to  circumscribe  her  maritime 
claims,  she  professed  a  readiness  to  nominate  pleni 
potentiaries  to  treat  directly  with  the  plenipoten- 
tiaries  of  the  American  government,  and  expressed 
an  earnest  wish  that  their  conferences  might  result 
in  establishing,  between  the  two  nations,  the  bless- 
mgs  and  reciprocal  advantages  of  peace.*    This 
proposal,  which  was  communicated  by  lord  Castle- 
reagh  to  the  American  secretary  of  state,  on  the 
4th  of  November,  was  accepted  by  the  government 
of  the  United  States  without  hesitation,  and  Got- 
tenburg,  being  neutral  territory,  was  fixed  upoi^  as 
the  place  at  which  the  plenipotentiaries  should  as- 
semble. 


•  Despatch  from  lord  Cathcart  to  the  count  Nesselrode,  dated 
TopUtz,  September  1, 1813.  ' 


©nAiMPffim  az. 


1  HE  slow  operations  of  diplomacy,  combined  with 
the  great  crisis  in  Europe,  which  had  now  arrived, 
and  which  absorbed  the  principal  attention  of  the 
British  government,  doomed  the  United  States  of 
America  to  suffer,  for  another  year,  all  the  horrors 
of  war.     After  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  it  was  held  in 
this  country,  with  a  lamentable  ignorance  of  the 
real  state  of  the  feelings  and  energies  of  the  United 
States,  that  Britain,  so  long  the  undisputed  mis- 
tress of  the  ocean,  would  soon  be  able  to  sweep 
from  the  seas,  the  ships  of  America,-  and  that  those 
troops  which  had  acquired  so  much  ^ory  when 
contending  with  the  veteran  armies  of  Europe, 
would  no  sooner  show  themselves  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  than  the  panic-struck  soldiers 
of  the  United  States,  would  be  driven  far  within  their 
own  frontiers.  These  pleasing  illusions  were  height- 
ened by  the  hope  that  England  would  soon  be  able 
to  dictate  peace  in  the  capital  of  the  republic;  or  at 
least,  that  the  splendour  of  British  triumphs,  and 
the  pressure  of  American  embarrassments,  would 
induce  and  encourage  the  inhabitants  of  the  north- 
crn  states  to  form  a  separate  government,  under 
the  protection  of  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  if  not 
actuaUy  under  the  sway  of  her  sceptre. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  year  1814,  the  war 
^ih  America,  was  suffered  to  '    guish^  but  no 


114 


»HB  nriTEB  STATES 


«ooner  was  Europe  restored  to  peace,  by  the  tie- 
thr«nement  of  Bonaparte,  than  the  British  govern- 
ment  resolved  to  prosecute  the  contest  with  in- 
creased  vigour,  and  to  obtain  in  the  field,  a  recog- 
nition of  those  maritime  rights,  which  had  hitherto 
lieen  so  strenuously  resisted  in  the  cabinet.    Two 
distinct  modes  of  prosecuting  the  war  seem  to  have 
been  determined  upon  by  the  British  ministry;  first, 
an  invasion  of  the  coasts  of  the  United  States;  and, 
second,  after  the  protection  of  Canada  had  been 
secured,  the  conquest  of  so  much  of  the  adjoining 
territory,  as  might,  in  the  event  of  a  future  war, 
effectually  guard  that  province  from  all  danger. 
The  peace  of  Paris  was  scarcely  ratified,  before 
fourteen  thousand  of  those  troops,  which  had  gain- 
ed so  much  renown  under  the  duke  of  Wellington, 
were  embarked  at  Bordeaux,  for  Canada,*  and  about 
the  same  time,  a  strong  naval  force,  with  an  ade- 
quate number  of  troops,  was  collected,  and  des- 
patched for  the  purpose  of  invading  different  parts 
of  the  coast  of  the  United  States. 

So  early  as  the  month  of  March,  some  move- 
ments had  taken  place  in  tlie  American  army  of 
the  north,  under  general  Wilkinson,  indicative  of 
an  intention  to  try  once  more  the  fortune  of  war  on 
tlie  Canadian  territory;  and  on  the  30th  of  tliat 
month,  the  position  of  Odell-town,  under  the  com- 
mand of  major  Hancock,  was  attacked  with  con- 
siderable vigour;  but  the  resistance  made  by  the 
British  commander  was  so  spirited  and  judicious, 
«^,«n««.»»„  TTv**;  *c|Fiyi3cu  wua  considefajDie 


AND  OBEAT  BRITAIN. 


Ill 


loss,  and  obliged  again  to  retreat  to  their  position, 
at  Plattsburg. 

Before  the  reinforcements  from  Europe  arrived 
in  America,  an  expedition  was  undertaken,  under 
the  command  of  genera!  Drummond  and  commo- 
dore sir  James  Yeo,  against  the  fort  of  Oswego,  on 
Lake  Ontario.  On  the  6th  of  May,  preparations 
were  made  for  commencing  the  attack,  but  it  was 
soon  discovered  that  the  garrison  had  made  their 
escape,  and  general  Drummond  took  possession  of 
the  town  and  fort  without  opposition.  After  the 
barracks  had  been  destroyed,  and  all  the  damage 
inflicted  upon  the  works  that  was  found  practica- 
ble, the  troops  re-embarked,  bringing  away  seven 
heavy  guns,  and  a  quantity  of  stores.  Another 
attempt,  on  a  small  scale,  made  on  Sandy  Creek, 
by  captain  Popham  of  the  navy,  in  concert  with 
captain  Spilsbury,  proved  unfortunate,  and  was  at- 
tended with  a  loss  of  eighteen  men  killed,  and  fifty 
dangerously  wounded,  exclusive  of  prisoners. 

A  large  American  force,  under  major-general 
Brown,  crossed  the  Niagara  river,  on  the  3d  of  Ju- 
ly, and  advancing  against  fort  Erie,  demanded  the 
surrender  of  the  garrison.  Major  Buck,  to  whom 
the  command  of  the  fort  was  confided,  appears  to 
have  been  very  ill-informed  of  the  hostile  movement 
by  which  he  was  assailed;  and,  instead  of  his  aton- 
ing for  his  want  of  vigilance,  by  a  gallant  defence^ 
surrendered  the  fort  at  the  first  summons,  himself, 
and  one  hundred  and  forty  men,  being  made  pris- 
oners of  war.  After  the  fall  o,f  fort  Erie,  general 
Brown  advanced  towards  the  British  lines  of  Chip- 


116 


THE  UiriTEA  STATE 8 


paway;   but  no  sooner  was  major-general  Riall, 
who  commanded  the  British  troops  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, made  acquainted  with  this  movement, 
than  he   ordered  the  immediate   advance  of  five 
companies  of  royal  Scots  to  reinforce  the  garrison, 
while  a  detachment  of  the  lOOth  regiment,  with  a 
body  of  militia,  and  a  few  Indians,  moved  forward 
for  the  purpose  of  reconnoitring  the  position,  and 
ascertaining  the  number  of  t!ie  enemy.     Early  in 
the  morning  of  the  5th,  several  affairs  of  posts  took 
place,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  both 
armies  were  drawn  up  in  battle  array  on  a  plain, 
about  a  mile  to  the  west  of  Chippaway.     The  ene- 
my,  m  expectation  of  being  attacked,  had  taken  up 
a  position,  with   his  right,  under  general  Scott, 
resting  on  an  orchard,  close  to  the  river  Niagara, 
and  strongly  supported  by  artillery;  his  left,  under 
general  Porter,  rested  on  a  wood,  with  a  body  of 
riflemen  and  Indians  in  front,*   and  general  Rip- 
ley's  brigade  placed  in  reserve.    In  a  few  minutes 
the  British  line  advanced  in  three  columns,  the 
light  companies  of  the  royal  Scots,  and  the  lOOth 
regiment,  with  the  gd  Lincoln,  forming  the  ad- 
vance,  under  lieutenant-color^el  Pearson,  wmi^>  tb' 
Indian  warriors,  posted  on  the  right  flahL,  uoca- 
pied  the  woods.     About  half  past  four,  the  Cana- 
dian militia  and  the  Indians,  were  sharply  engaged 
with  th?*.  enemy's  riflemen  and  Indians,  who  at 
first  chr  JfMl  th^'ir  advance;  but  the  light  troops 
being  i,i  74ig;  t  to  tlieir  support,  the  division  under 
general  Porter,  consisting  principally  of  the  New- 
York  and  Pennsylvania  volunteers,  gave  ¥piy,  and 


IND  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


117 


fled  in  every  direction.  After  this  success,  gener- 
al Riall  ordered  the  king's  regiment  to  move  to  tho 
right,  while  the  royal  Scots,  and  the  100th  regi- 
ment, were  directed  to  charge  the  enemy  in  front. 
The  steady  bravery  with  which  this  charge  »^7a8 
received  by  general  Scott*s  brigade,  gave  the  first 
intimatiovh  that  the  Americans  had  found,  in  the  in- 
cpcas'^d  gallantry  of  their  armies,  a  counterpoise 
against  the  veteran  troops  which  Great  Britain  was 
at  this  moment  pouring  upon  their  shores.  Two 
battalions  of  general  Scott's  brigade,  with  an  en- 
larged interval  between  them,  received  the  assail- 
ants in  open  plain,  and  prepared  to  take  ijiem  in 
front  and  flank  at  tlie  same  time,  while  captain 
Towson,  advanced  to  the  front  of  the  British  left 
with  three  pieces  of  artillery,  and  took  post  on  the 
river..  The  fire  of  the  enemy's  corps,  accompanied 
by  their  artillery,  produced  a  visible  impression 
upon  the  British  ranks,  and  the  explosion  of  an 
ammunition  wagon,  silenced  the  most  efficient  of 
their  batteries.  A  heavy  discharge  of  canister 
shot  was  now  poured  on  the  British  infantry,  and 
general  Riall,  being  no  longer  able  to  sustain  this 
accumulated  fire,  ordered  the  attack  to  be  aban- 
doned, and  the  troops  to  retire  behind  their  works 
at  Chippaway.  In  this  engagement,  which  closed 
only  with  the  day,  lieutenant-colonel  Gordon,  of 
the  royal  Scots,  and  lieutenant-colonel  the  Marquis 
of  Tweedale,  late  aid-de-camp  to  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, were  both  wounded,  as  were  most  of  the 
officers  belonging  to  their  respective  regiments* 

nd  mav 


K  2 


learly  equals 


118 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


be  pstimatcd,  in  round  numbers,  at  five  humli-ed 
each.  The  number  of  Britisli  rcguljirs  engaged  in 
the  battle  of  Chippaway,  is  stated  by  their  general, 
at  fifteen  hundred,  exclusive  ofmilitia  aitJ  Indians; 
and  on  the  same  authority,  it  is  sa'd,  that  the  ene- 
my'^ force  aniounted  to  about  six  thousand  men 
(25) 

Emboldened  by  the  success  wliich  had  attended 
their  first  operations,  the  enemy  looked  forward  to 
still  greater  advantages.     After  the  action  of  the 
5th,  general  Riall  retreated  to  a  position  near  fort 
IViagara;  and  the  American   army  took   post  at 
Chippa^ay.    On  the  arrival  of  general  Drummond 
at  Niagara,  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  July,  he 
advanced  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  force  to- 
wards  the  Falls,-  and  scarcely  had  he  formed  a 
junction  with  general  Riall,  when  intelligence  ar- 
rived  that  the  American  army,  imder  Gen.  Brown, 
was  again  advancing.     The  British  general  imme  ■ 
diately  proceeded  to  meet  the  enemy,  whom  he 
found  strongly  posted  on  a  rising  ground  at  Bridge- 
water,  near  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  and  within  the 
sound  of  the  thunders  of  that  stupendous  cataract. 
Without  a  moment's  delay,  the  89th  regiment,  the 
royal  Scots  detachments,  and  the  light  companies 
of  the  41st,  formed  in  the  rear  of  the  hill,  their 
left  resting  on  the  great  road  to  Queenstown;  and 
two  twenty-four  pounder  brass  field   guns  were 
placed  a  little  advanced  in  front  of  the  centre,  on 
the  summit  of  the  rising  ground,-  while  the  Glen- 
gary  light  infantry,  the  battalion  of  incorporated 
mUitia,  and  a  detachment  of  the  king's  regiment, 


#» 


XTXn  GEBAT  BRITAIN. 


1*9 


occupied  the  left  of  the  road,  supported  in  the  rear, 
by  a  squadron  of  the  i9th  light  dragoons,  under 
the  command  of  major  Lisle.     This  disposition  of 
the  British  forces  was  no  sooner  completed,  than 
they   were   attacked  by  brigadier-general   Scott, 
and  before  the  remainder  of  the  American  army 
Iiad   crossed   tlie  Chippaway,  the  action  became 
close  and  general  between  the  advanced  corps.    On 
the  arrival  of  general  Brown  upon  the  field,  he 
found  that  the  first  brigade  had  passed  the  wood, 
near  the  Falls,  and  tliat  the  9th,  11th,  and  22d  re- 
giments, with  Towson's  artillery,  were  engaged  on 
the  Qneenstown  road,  directing  their  principal  ef- 
forts against  the  left  and  centre  of  the  British. — • 
The  eminence  occupied  by  the  British  artillery, 
supported  by  the  2d  battalion  of  the  89th  i^cgiment, 
under  lieutenant-colonel  Morrison,  was  conceived 
by  general  Brown,  to  be  the  key  of  the  whole  posi- 
tion, and  colonel  Miller  was  ordcied  to  advance 
and  carry  the  height  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 
The  struggle  at  this  point  was  arduous  in  the  ex- 
treme; and  the  British  troops,  finding  themselves 
severely  pressed,  formed  round  the  colours  of  the 
89th,  and  fought  with  invincible  bravery.     About 
the  same  time,  major  Jessup  succeeded  in  turning 
the  British  left  flank;  and  gener.  1  Riall,  having 
received  a  severe  wound  in  his  arm,  was  intercept- 
ed by  captain  Ketch  urn's  detachment  as  he  was 
passing  to  the  rear,  and  made  prisoner.     In  the 
centre,  the  repeated  and  determined  attacks  of  the 
Americans  were  met  with  the  most  perfect  steadi- 
ness and  intrepid  gallantry^  and  they  were  con- 


IQO 


THB  UNITED  STATES 


stiintly  repulsed  with  very  Iieavy  loss.     These  at- 
tacks were  directed  against  the  guns  of  the  British 
with  so  much  vigour  and  determination,  that  tho 
artillerymen  were  bayoneted  in  the  act  of  loading 
their  cannon,  and  the  muzzles  of  the  enemy's  guns 
were   advanced  within   a  few  yards  of  those  by 
which  they  were  oppo  ,ed.     The  night,  which  had 
now  closed  in  upon  the  combatants,  failed  to  put 
an  end  to  the  battle,  and  during  this  extraordinary 
conflict,  the  two  armies,  mistaking  each  other's 
guns,  actually  made  an  exchange,  by  which  the 
enemy  obtained  one,  and  the  British  two  pieces.-I 
The  battle,  having  raged  three  hours,  was  sus- 
pended   about  nine  o'clock,  by  mutual  consent; 
during  which  time  the  enemy  was  employed  in 
bringing  up  his  reserves.     In  a  short  time  the  ac 
tion  was  renewed,-  and  general  Porter,  at  the  head 
of  his  New  York  and   Pennsylvania  volunteers, 
made  a  gallant  charge,  which  retrieved  the  charac 
ter  of  the  corps,  and  called  forth  the  praises  of  the 
commander  of  the  American  army.     About  this 
period,  general  Drummond  received  a  reinforce- 
ment of  troops,  under  colonel  Scott,  consisting  of 
the  103d  regiment,  the  head  quarter  divisions  of 
the  royal  Scots,  and  king's,  and  the  flank  compa- 
nies of  the  104th  regiment.  This  seasonable  supply 
of  troops  seems  to  have  decided  the  fortune  of  the 
day,-  and  at  midnight,  the  enemy,  finding  all  his  ef- 
forts  to  obtain  possession  of  the  hUl  unavailing, 
gave  up  the  contest,  and  retreated  to  his  camo  be- 
yond Chippaway,  carrying  with  him  the  wounded 
and  artillery.     On  the  day  following,  he  abandon- 


AND  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


121 


ed  his  campy  throwing  the  greater  part  of  his  bag- 
gage,  camp  equipage,  and  provisions,  into  the  rap- 
ids^ and  having  destroyed  the  bridge  at  Chippaway, 
continued  his  retreat  towards  fort  £rie.  «The  loss 
sustained  by  the  enemy  in  this  severe  action,  can- 
not," says  general  Drummond  in  his  despatches, 
«be  estimated  at  less  than  fifteen  hundred  men,  in« 
eluding  several  hundred  prisoners^  his  two  com- 
manding generals,  Brown  and  Scott,  were  both 
wounded;  his  whole  force,  which  has  never  been 
rated  at  less  than  five  thousand,  having  been  enga- 
ged. The  number  of  troops  under  my  command^ 
did  not,  for  the  first  three  hours,  exceed  sixteen 
hundred  meni  and  the  addition  of  troops  tindtr  col- 
onel Scott,  did  not  increase  it  to  more  than  two 
thousand  eight  hundred,  of  every  description."* 
The  battle  of  Bridgewater,  was  without  exception^ 
the  most  sanguinary,  and  decidedly  the  best  fought 
action,  which  had  taken  place  on  the  American  con- 
tinent. The  repeated  charges,  and  the  actual  con- 
test with  the  bayonet,  are  alone  sufficient  to  render 
this  engagement  remarkable;  and  the  charge  made 
by  colonel  Miller,  on  the  crest  of  the  British  posi- 
tion, is  said  to  have  exhibited  traits  of  heroism,  in- 
ferior only  to  those  displayed  at  the  storming  of 
St.  Sebastian.  (26) 
A  resolution  was  now  formed  to  attempt  the  re- 


•  According  to  the  American  accounts,  the  whole  amount  of 
their  force  engaged  on  the  25th  July,  did  not  not  exceed  2800,  of 
allien  tli sir  loss  in  Icillsil-  v/onnflf*fi  5infl  TTii*5*i!n'*'  sitnoHntfid  but 
to  860;  while  the  loss  of  the  British  is  stated  by  general  Drum- 
mond, at  87^. 


lU 


THE  UiriTED  STATES 


capture  of  fort  Erie;  and  for  this  purpose,  genera* 
Drummond  who  had  advanced  to  that  pla^e!  opet 
ed  the  fire  of  his  batteries  against  it  on  the  isth  of 
August.    Owing  to  the  severe  wounds  received  by 

baWe  of  Bridgewater.  the  command  of  the  Jeft  wing 
of  the  second  division  of  the  northern  army  had 
Sid  h""?  "'•'««''-■«--'  Oaines,  wh'o  ha 
wi  it  th?r  r'T.'""""^  '"  "''^-Sthen  bis  position 
witlun  the  fort.  During  the  13th  and  14th,  a  brisk 
cannonade  was  kept  up  against  the  works,  wl^en 

fTuffiift"'""""""'-  ^''^••■^—  to-elieveti:: 
a  sufficwnt  impression  had  been  produced,  resolv 
ed  to  car.7  the  place  by  a  nocturnal  »...„V";i: 
attacks  were  accordingly  ordered  to  be  made:  tie 
one  by  a  heavy  column  under  lieutenant-co  „„e 
s!rt,TlTHi''^"r  *''«>'"*--'«»ents  on  the 

Scott    and  .w'   ?"  .*'"  """"••  "»«'«'■  -^olonol 
Scott,  and  lieutenant-colonel  Drummond,  on  the 

fort  and  intrenchment,  leading  to  the  Uke     A 

half  past  .wo  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  I5tt 

renchment,  by  a  kind  of  abbatis.  Lfonc  j  by  th; 

can„o„  „„der  captain  Towson.    The  attention  of 
the  American  general  was  soon  after  called  to  tbe 

S^f't«  ni  "PJ'^r"  ''^.^'^  centre  and  left  of 

„„  ^"""'""''  "no*"- colonels  Drummond  and 

Scott,  was  announced  by  a  fire  of  cannon  and  mus- 


AND  GREAT  BBITAIIT. 


1S3 


ketry.    A  vigorous  attack,  made  by  the  left  col- 
umn, under  colonel  Scott,  was  successfully  resisted 
by  the  New- York  and   Pennsylvania  volunteers, 
aided  by  a  six-pounder,  under  major  M«Ree,-  but 
the  centre,  led  on  by  colonel  Drummond,  was  not 
long  kept  in  check;  it  approached,  at  once,  every 
assailable  point  of  the  fort,  and  with  scaling  lad- 
ders ascended  the  parapet.     The  assault  at  this 
point  was  twice  repeated,  and  as  often  checked;  but 
the  British  troops,  having  moved  round  the  ditch 
unobserved,  re-ascended  their  ladders,  and  after 
carrying  the  bastion  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
actually  turned  the  guns  of  the  fortress  against  its 
defenders.     According  to  the  American  accounts, 
colonel  Drummond  performed  prodigies  of  valour, 
but  on  the  same  authority,  a  stigma  is  cast  upon  the 
memory  of  this  gallant  officer,  by  the  assertion  that 
he   frequently  reiterated   a  sanguinary   order  to 
<'give  the  damned  yankees  no   quarter."*    The 
battle  now  raged  with  increased  fury,  and  several 
attempts  were  made  by  the  garrison  to  dislodge  the 
assailants;  but  in  a  moment  every  operation  was 
arrested  by  the  accidental  explosion  of  a  quantity 
of  ammunition  which  had  been  placed  under  the 
platform,  and  by  which  almost  all  the  troops  that 
had  entered  the  place  were  dreadfully  mangled.    A 
panic  instantly  communicated  itself  to  the  British 
troops;  and  so  fixed  was  their  persuasion,  that  the 
explosion  was  not  accidental,  that  the  utmost  ex- 
ei'tion  of  the  few  survivims:  officers  to  pp„«tn,.a  ^«.f.« 

•  Despatches  from  general  Gaines,  to  the  American  Secretary 
at  War,  dated  Fort  Erie,  August  23d,  1814. 


124 


THE  VNITBD  STATBS 


...  It 

proTed  ineffectual.  The  enemj^  availing  himself 
of  this  advantage^  pressed  forward  upon  the  disor- 
dered cohimnsy  and  before  day  appeared,  the  be- 
siegers were  obliged  to  abandon  the  bastion,  and 
to  seek  shelter  behind  their  own  batteries.  The 
loss  of  the  British,  in  this  disastrous  enterprise, 
amounted,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  to  up- 
wards of  nine  hundred  menj  and  both  colonel  Scott 
and  lieutenant-colonel  Drummond  were  numbered 
among  the  slain.  The  American  loss  was  compar- 
atively small,  and  is  stated,  in  their  own  accounts, 
not  to  have  exceeded  eighty-four  men,  of  whom  sev- 
enteen were  killed,  iifty-six  wounded,  and  eleven 
missing.  > 

The  loss  of  tlie  British  army  was  greatly  aggra- 
vated by  a  sortie  made  upon  their  works  before  fort 
Erie,  on  the  I7th  of  September,  and  from  the  de- 
tails of  which,  as  stated  in  the  American  official 
reports^  it  should  appear,  that  a  due  degree  of  vigi- 
lance did  not  prevail  in  the  camp.    Early  in  the 
morning  of  that  day,  the  infantry  and  riflemen, 
both  of  the  regulars  and  militia,  w^ere  ordered  by 
general  Brow^n,  who  had  now  resumed  the  com- 
mand, to  hold  themselves  in  a  state  of  readiness  to 
march  against  the  English  batteries.    At  twelve 
o'clock,  general  Porter  was  ordered  to  move,  at  the 
head  of  his  detachment,  by  a  passage  previously 
opened  through  the  woods,  for  the  purpose  of  at- 
tacking the  right  of  the  besieging  army.     General 
Miller  was,  at  the  same  time,  directed  to  occupy 
the  ravine  between  fort  Erie  and  the  batteries, 
while  general  Ripley  was  posted  with  a  corps  of 


AND  QUE  AT  BRITAIIT. 


125 


reserve  between  the  two  bastions  of  the  fort.    Soon 
after  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  general  Por- 
ter's column,  which  was  destined  to  penetrate  to 
the  rear  of  the  British  batteries,  and  to  turn  their 
right,  carried  a  strong  Ulock-house  by  storm,  while 
general  Miller,  advancing  from  the  ravine,  pierced 
the  intrenchments;  and  within  half  an  hour  from 
the  time  tiiat  the  first  gun  was  fired,  two  of  the  bat- 
teries out  of  the  three  were  in  possession  of  the  en- 
emy.   The  fate  of  the  remaining  battery  was  soon 
after  decided,  and  the  assailants,  having  spiked  the 
British  guns,  and  destroyed  one  of  the  magazines, 
withdrew  within  their  own  lines.     Thus,  in  the 
short  space  of  one  hour,  the  fruits  of  fifty  day's  la- 
bour were  destroyed,  and  the  efficient  force  of  the 
British   army  diminished  at  least  one  thousand 
men,  of  whom  three  hundred  and  eighty-five  were 
made  prisoners.     The  aggregate  loss  of  the  Amer- 
icans amounted  to  five  hundred  and  eleven,  of  whom 
forty-five  were  officers,  and  the  remainder  non- 
commissioned officers  and  privates.    After  the  des- 
truction of  bis  works  before  fort  Ej'ie,   general 
Drummond  broke  up  his  camp,   and  returned  on 
the  night  of  the  21st,  to  his  intrcnchments  behind 
Chippaway.  (27) 


# 


<ii0 


t*^'  ^>m  msmciiM^'X  'n^^ 


<QMMfTML  X 


It  naw  had  become  abundantly  evident  that  tht 
Americans  had  been  taught  to  fight  on  the  land  as 
well  as  upon  the  ocean^  and  that  they  were  indebted 
to  Great  Britain  for  their  instruction:  but  the  hope 
was  cherished,  that,  as  soon  as  sir  George  Prevost 
had  received  all  the  reinforcements  which  were  des- 
patched to  him  immttdiately  after  the  peace  of  Par- 
isy  a  splendid  and  decisive  victory  over  the  enemy 
would  be  obtained.  Upon  the  arrival  of  these  re- 
inforcements, no  time  was  lost  in  assembling  three 
brigades  on  the  frontier  of  Lower  Canada,  and  in 
forming  them  into  a  division,  under  the  command 
of  major-general  de  Rottenburgh,  for  the  purpose 
of  transferring  the  seat  of  war  into  the  enemy's  ter- 
ritory. The  invading  army,  under  the  governor- 
general,  was  now  swelled  to  fourteen  thousand 
men^  and  on  his  approach  to  the  line  of  separation 
between  Lower  Canada  and  the  United  States,  the 
American  army  abandoned  their  intrenched  camp 
at  Champlain,  which  was  occupied  on  the  Sd  of 
September,  by  the  British  forces.  The  following 
day  the  whole  of  the  left  division  advanced  to  the 
village  of  Chazy,  and  on  the  5th,  haltea^  within 
eight  miles  of  Plattsburgh,  having  surmounted  all 
the  difficulties  created  by  the  obstructions  in  the 
road,  from  the  felling  of  trees,  and  the  removal  of 


18ft. 


THE  ViriTBO  STATES 


bridges.    On  the  6th,  the  whole  division  moved 
upon  Plattsbargb,  in  two  columns,  the  right  led  hy 
major-general  Power's  brigade,  and  the  left  by  the 
brigade  under  major-general  Brisbane.    The  New- 
York  militia,  commanded  by  general  Moores,  sup- 
ported by  a  detachment  of  regular  troops,  under 
major  Wood,  attempted  to  impede  the  advance  of 
the  right  column  of  the  British  army;  hut  the  mi- 
litia  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  stand,  notwith- 
standing  the  exertions  of  their  general  and  staff 
officers,-  and  general  Power's  column  entered  Platts- 
burgh  without  ever  having  deployed  in  their  whole 
line  of  march.     By  this  rtvpid  movement,  the  ene- 
my's strong  position  at  Dead  Creek  was  reversed, 
and  leaving  his  gun-boats  to  defend  the  ford,  he 
retreated  to  an  elevated  ridge  of  land  on  tlie  south 
side  of  the  river  Saranac.     This  position,  render- 
cd  strong  by  nature,  was  crowned  with  tfiree  re- 
doubts, and  other  field  works,  and  defended  by  fif- 
teen  hundred  eflTcctive  troops,  under  the  command 
of  general  Macomb.     On  the  advance  of  the  Bri- 
tish   army  to   Plattsburgh,   the  southern  part  of 
which  city  is  washed  by  the  waters  of  the  Saranac, 
at  their  junction  with  Cumberiand  Bay,  the  Amer- 
ican general  ordered  the  planks  to  be  taken  off  the 
bridges,  and  piled  up  in  the  form  of  breast-works, 
to  cover  the  parties  intended  to  dispute  the  passage 
of  tlie  river.     From  the  nh  to  the  1  ith,  sir  George 
Prevost  was  employed  in  bringing  up  his  battering 
tram;  and  captain  Downle,  who  had  recently  been 
appointed  to  command  the  British  fleet  on  lake 
Champlain,  was  urged  to  advance  into  the  bay  of 


ANO  GRBAT  HRITATIT. 


129 


Plattsburgh,  in  order  to  co-operate  with  the  land 
forces.  !  he  British  army  now  only  waited  the  ar- 
rival of  the  flotUla,  and  at  seven  o'clock  in  the 
mornings  of  the  11th,  the  vessels  were  seen  over  the 
isthmus  which  joins  Cumberland-Head  with  the 
main  land,  steering  for  the  bay,  with  the  determin- 
ation  to  engage  the  American  flotilla  under  commo- 
dore  Macdonough.  At  the  same  instant  the  battel 
ries  were  opened  upon  the  enemy^s  position  on  the 
Saranac,  and  the  brigades  under  major-general 
Robinson  and  major-general  Power,  were  ordered 
to  force  the  ford,  and  to  escalade  the  enemy's  works 
upon  the  heights. 

The  enemy's  fleet,  which  consisted  of  a  ship^  a 
brig,  and  two  schooners,  was  moored  in  line  abreast 
of  their  intrenched  camp,  with  a  division  of  five 
gun-boats  on  each  flank.     Captain  Downie,  in  the 
Confiance,  having  determined  on  laying  his  ship 
close  to  the  American  commodore's  ship,  the  Sara- 
toga,  directed  lieutenant  M<Ghee,  of  the  Chub,  to 
support  captain  Pring,  in  the  Linnet,  in  engaging 
the  brig  to  the  riglit,  and  lieutenant  Hicks,  of  the 
Finch,  with  the  flotilla  of  gun-boats,  to  attack  the 
schooner  and  sloop  on  the  left  of  the  enemy's  line. 
At  eight  o'clock,   the  American  gun-boats   and 
smaller  vessels  commenced  a  heavy  and  galling  fire 
on  the  British  line,  and  at  ten  minutes  after  eight, 
the  Confiance,  having  two  anchors  shot  away  froito 
her  larboard  bow,  was  obliged  to  anchor,  though 


Cawics  iCiigin  of  her  adversary.  1'he 
Linnet  and  Chub  soon  afterwards  took  their  allot- 
ted statians,  at  about  the  same  distance,  when  the 

L  2 


130 


THR  UNITED  STATTEB 


ercws  on  both     :ilc3  rlir.ercd,   and  commenced  a 
spii  itcd  and  closo  Ji rtion.     A  short  time,  however, 
deprived  tbe  Hcrvicc  of  the  Chub,  which,  from  ha v- 
ing  her  cables,  bowsprit,  and  main-boom  shot  away, 
drifted  into  the  enemy's  line,  and  was  obliged  to 
surrender.     From  the  light  airs,  and  the  unruffled 
surface  of  the  lake,  the  fire  on  both  sides  proved 
very  destructive;  and  after  two  hours  of  severe  con- 
flict, during  which  captain  Dowiiio  was  slain,  the 
Confiance  struck  her  colours.     The  whole  of  the 
enemy's  fleet  then  directed  their  destructive  can- 
nonade against  the  Linnet,  and  captain  Pring,  hav- 
ing  ascertained  that  his  brave  commander  had  al- 
ready  fallen,  and  that  all  hope  of  relief  had  vanish- 
ed,  conceived  that  the  situation  of  his  gallant  com- 
rades,  who  had  so  nobly  fought,  and  were  every 
moment  falling  by  his  side,  demanded  the  surren- 
der  of  his  vessel,  gave  the  painful  orders  for  the 
colours  to  be  struck.     The  same  fate  awaited  the 
Chub  and  the  Finch,   and  the  gun-boats  were  in- 
debted, for  their  escape,  to  the  shattered  condition 
of  the  enemy's  vessels.     In  this  disastrous  action, 
the  loss  on  both  sides  was  severe,  and  when  the 
comparative  strength  of  the  two  squadrons,  as  sta- 
ted  by  the  Americans,  is  considered,   the  result 
would  be  most  humiliating,  were  it  not  known  that 
captain  Downie  was  urged  into  the  action  before 
his  ship,  which   had  only  been  ten  days  off  the 
stocks,  was  in  a  fit  condition  to  meet  the  enemy.* 


*  Despatches  from  sir  James  Lucas  Yeo  to  J.  W.  Crokor,  Esq^ 
^ed  September  24, 18U. 


AlTD   GBEAT  BlilTAilC. 


131 


Comparativt  view  of  tlu:  force  and  loss  of  the  hoitile  Ftceta, 


BlilTlSH. 

Outu. 

Jnen, 

Killed. 

Wounded. 

CoiiBancc,      •    -      39 

300 

50 

60 

Linycty  .     .     .     .     16 

1120 

20 

30 

Chub,  ....       u 

40 

6 

10 

Finch,    -     .     .     -     u 

40 

8 

10 

Thirteen  giin-boats,  1 8 

550 

0 

00 

Total,     ....    95 

1,050 

84 

110 

AMERICAN. 

Gum. 

Meii. 

Xtlled. 

Wounded. 

Saratoga,    ...    26 

210 

28 

29 

Eagle,      -     .     -     -  20 

120 

13 

20 

Ticonderoga,   -     -     17 

no 

6 

6 

Preble,     -     -     -     .     r 

30 

2 

0 

Ten  gun-boats,      .     16 

350 

3 

3 

Total,     -     -     -     -     86  820         52  58 

"While  the  vessels  were  engaged  upon  the  lake, 
the  land  forces,  under  general  Robinson  and  gen- 
eral Power,  had  succeeded  in  effecting  a  passage 
across  the  Saranac;  but  no  sooner  were  the  shouts 
of  victory  heard  from  the  enemy's  works,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  success  of  their  squadron,  than  sir 
George  Prevost  arrested  the  course  of  his  troops, 
and  ordered  them  to  retreat.  In  the  evening  of  the 
same  day  the  British  batteries  were  dismantled; 
and  at  two  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  army  re- 
treated, leaving  a  large  proportion  of  the  sick. 


■  ■T^^  »■*  w%  gm  ^^ m\ 


-.„-l    „i. I_iL_      1 1_  4» 

iiiiU  SlUivo,    iii   lliC    iicinU»    OI 


me  enensy. 

The  estimate  of  the  loss  of  every  kind  sustained  by 
yie  British  in  their  expedition  against  th«  United 


las 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


States,  as  made  by  the  Americans,  is  enormous- 
but  tiie  return  transmitted  by  sir  George  Prevost' 
to  his  government,  of  the  loss  in  action  between  the 
6th  and  the  14th  of  September,  does  not  amount  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men.  The  desertions  how- 
ever,  swelled  this  number  to  a  large  amount,  and 
every  idea  of  penetrating  into  the  enemy's  coun- 
try,  from  the  side  of  Lower  Canada,  was  aban- 
doned. 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  the  degree  of 
mortification  and  disappointment  created  in  Great 
Britain,  by  the  arrival  of  this  disastrous  intelli- 
gence.       Troops,   which   had  been  victorious  in 
Spain,  and  France,-  which  had  not  only  fought  and 
conquered  under  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  but  which 
had  received  his  particular  commendation  for  their 
steadiness  and  bravery,-  had  now  been  baffled  and 
defeated  by  an  American  army,  less  than  one-third 
their  numbers  by  men,   to  whom  veteran  troops 
would  scarcely  award  the  name  of  soldiers;  and 
who,  but  a  few  months  before,  had  fled  before  the 
Canadian  militia.    In  Canada,  the  complaints  were 
loud  and  general  against  Sir  George  Prevost.  The 
flotilla,  it  was  said,  had  been  sacrificed  by  his  pre- 
cipitancyj   and  the  officers  of  his  army  were  of 
opinion,   that  even    without  naval  co-operation, 
Plattsburgh  might  have  been  carried,  had  not  the 
peremptory  orders  of  the  gov^mor-general  obliged 
them  reluctantly  to  retreat  within  their  own  fron- 
tier.  (28) 


d-'-f^-^ 


^MAWTWB.  ^2. 


The  operations  on  the  banks  of  lake  Chatnplain 
terminated  the  principal  events  of  the  war  on  the 
Canadian  frontier.  Neither  of  the  belligerent  states 
had,  in  the  course  of  the  contest,  gained  any  ex- 
tension of  territory  in  this  quarter;   and  of  the 
numerous  attempts  made  by  the  contending  armies 
to  alter  the  line  of  demarkation,  not  one  of  them 
liad  been  attended  with  permanent  success.    The 
well-balanced  skill  and  prowess  of  the  maritime 
subjects  of  the  two  countries  continued  to  vibratej 
and  alternate  success  and  disaster  left  the  question 
of  naval  ascendency  to  be  decided  probably  by  fu- 
ture wars.    In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1812,  the 
United  States'  frigate  Essex,  captain  Porter,  had 
proceeded  to  sea  from  the  Delaware,   and,  after 
making  several  valuable  prizes  ou  the  coast  of 
Brazil,  shaped  her  course  for  the  Pacific  ocean, 
where  she  inflicted  great  injuries  on  British  com- 
merce, particularly  upon  the  shipping  employed  in 
the  spermaceti  whale  fishery.    The  numerous  cap- 
tures made  by  the  Essex,  having  at  Icngtb  attract- 
ed the  attention  of  the  British  board  of  admiralty, 
captain  Hillyar  was  despatched  in  the  Phoebe  fri- 

sloop  of  war,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the 
trade,  and  putting  an  end  to  the  depredations  to 


134 


THE  rWITBD  STATES 


Which  it  had  become  exposed.    After  a  quest  of 
nearly  five  months,  the  American  frigate  was  dis- 
covered,  along  with  a  corvette,  of  twenty  guns, 
riding  at  anchor  on  the  coast  of  Chili,  in  the  Span- 
ish  port  of  Valparaiso.    The  great  inferiority  of 
the  American  vessels  deterred  them  for  some  time 
from  venturing  to  sea  in  the  face  of  the  Phcebe  and 
her  consort,  but  after  suffering  a  blockade  of  six 
weeks,  captain  Porter  slipped  his  cable  in  the 
morning  ofthe  28th  of  March,  1814,  and  attempt, 
ed  to  escape  out  of  the  bay.     On  rounding  the 
point  of  the  harbour,  the  main-top  mast  of  the  Es- 
sex  was  carried  away  by  a  squall,  and  not  being 
able  to  regain  tjie  limits  of  the  neutral  port,  nU 
bore  up,  and  anchored  to  the  leeward  of  the  shtre 
After  some  distant  firing,  the  Phoebe  closed  with 
the  Essex,  at  thirty.fi ve  minutes  past  five  o'clock 
m  the  afternoon,  when  a  sanguinary  but  unequal 
contest  ensued,  during  which  the  Cherub,  having 
placed  herself  under  the  enemy's  stern,  contributed 
materially  to  her  annoyance.    The  decks  of  the 
Essex  soon  became  strewed  with  her  dead,  and 
her  cock-pit  filled  with  the  wounded.    Many  of 
her  guns  were  rendered  useless,  and  several  of 
them  had  the  whole  complement  of  their  men  des- 
troyed.     StUl  her  commander,    with  an  obstinacy 
bordering  on  desperation,  persisted  in  the  unequal 
conflict,  and  every  expedient  that  a  fertile  mind 
and  a  determined  spirit  could  suggest,  was  resort- 
ed  to,  in  the  hope  that  some  of  the  fortunate  changes 
incident  to  naval  warfare  might  rescue  him  from 
the  hands  of  his  antagonists.     Several  times  dur- 


AND  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


135 


ing  the  engagement  his  ship  had  taken  fire,-  and 
towards  its  close,  the  flames  burst  out  at  the  hatch- 
ways  both  fore  and  aft.    Thus  surrounded  by  hor- 
rors, captain  Porter  advised  such  of  his  crew  as 
could  swim,  to  jump  overboard  and  make  for  the 
shorei  while  those  that  remained  in  the  ship,  were 
employed  in  extinguishing  the  flames.    All  this 
time,  the  smoothness  of  the  water,  and  the  secure 
distance  of  the  Phoebe  and  the  Cherub,  enabled 
them  to  keep  up  a  deliberate  and  constant  fire  at 
the  enemy;  and  captain  Porter,  finding  his  crew 
extremely  weakened,  determined  to  summon  a  con- 
sultation  of  hist  officers;  but  to  his  surprise  he  found 
that  only  one,  lieutenant  M'Knight,  remained,  all 
the  others  having  been  either  killed  or  disabled— 
At  length,  after  one  of  the  most  obstinately  con- 
tested  actions  on  naval  record,   "humanity  tore 
down  the  colours  which  valour  had  nailed  to  the 
mast,"  and  the  American  captain  was  compelled, 
at  twenty  minutes  past  six  o'clock,  to  give  the 
painful  order  to  strike.*    The  loss  of  the  Essex  is 
a  sufficient  testimony  of  the  desperate  bravery  with 
which  she  was  defended.     Out  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty-five  men  who  composed  her  crew,  fifty-eight 
were  killed,  thirty-nine  wounded  severely,  twenty- 
seven  slighty,  and  tliirty-one  were  missing;  con- 
stituting an  aggregate  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
four.    The  British  ships,   on  the  contrary,   had 
only  five  killed,  and  ten  wounded,  among  the  for- 

•  Captain  Porter'a  letter  to  the  SecreUiy  of  the  American 
Navy. 


136 


THE  rwiTBD  STATES 


mer  of  whom  was  lieutenant  Ingham,  of  the  Phoebe; 
and  among  the  latter,  Capt.  Tucker,  of  the  Cherub! 
In  the  official  account  of  this  engagement,  trans- 
mitted to  his  government,  captain  Hilly ar,  with 
the  spirit  of  a  brave  man,  bestowed  a  liberal  share 
of  praise  on  the  gallantry  of  the  enemy;  and  on 
the  return  of  captain  Porter  to  America,  ho  was 
hailed  as  one  of  the  most  distinguished  naval  he- 
roes of  his  country. 

A   severe   action,   issuing  unfortunately  to  the 
British  flag,   took  place  on  the  fiSth  of  June,  neap 
the  entrance  to  St.  George's  Channel,  between  tlie 
Englfeh  brig  Reindeer,  Captain  Manners,  and  the 
American  sloop  of  war  Wasp,  Captain  Blakeley. 
Perceiving  an  enemy  to  leeward,  on  the  morning 
of  that  day,   captain  Manners  gave   chase,  and 
about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  two  hostile 
vessels  were  yard  arm  to  yard-arm.     For  five  and 
twenty  minutes  the  engagement  was  maintained 
with  the  most  determined  bravery,  when  the  Rein- 
deer, having  lost  her  gallant  commander,  her  pur- 
ser, and  twenty-seven  men  killed,  besides   forty 
woun4ed,  and   having  been  repulsed   in  two  at- 
tempts  to  board,  was  under  the  necessity  of  stri- 
king her  colours.    The  proportion   between  the 
two  ships,  in  size,  weight  of  metal,   and  comple- 
ment of  men,   was  greatly  in  favour  of  the  Wasp, 
and  so  completely  was  her  adversary   dismantled, 
that  she  coul4  "ot  be  kept  afloat,  but  was,   on  the 
following  day,  set  on  fire  and  destroyed.  (29) 

On  im  8th  of  July,  the  Wasp,   after   making  a 
number  of  other  captures,  put  into  L'Orient,  which 


AND   GREAT   BRITAIN. 


137 


port  she  left  on  the  27tli  of  August,  and  resumes 
her  cruise.  Four  days  after  her  departure  from 
the  French  port,  she  was  met  at  sea  by  the  British 
sloop  of  war  Avon,  of  twenty  guns,  commanded  by 
captain  Arbuthnot.  An  obstinate  action  immedi- 
ately commenced,  which  continued  for  forty-five 
minutes,  and  which  terminated  in  the  surrender  of 
the  British  sloop;  but  before  the  boats  of  the  Wasp 
could  be  lowered  for  the  purpose  of  taking  posses- 
sion of  her  prize,  three  other  sail  of  British  ships 
hove  in  sight,  and  captain  Blakeley  was  not  only 
obliged  to  abandon  his  prize,  but  to  seek  his  own 
safety  in  flight.  The  Wasp  afterwards  continued 
her  cruise,  making  great  iiavoc  among  the  mer- 
chant vessels,  of  which  she  captured  and  destroyed 
no  fewer  than  fifteen.  Nor  was  the  success  of  the 
enemy  on  the  ocean  confined  to  their  national  ves- 
sels, their  privateers  made  many  rich  captures,  not 
merely  on  their  own  coats,  and  among  the  West 
India  Islands,  but  on  the  coast  of  England  and 
Ireland;  and  thus,  with  a  navy  of  nearly  one  thou- 
sand ships,  and  without  any  other  enemy  than  the 
American  stains.  Great  Britain  had  the  mortifi- 
cation to  see  her  commerce  interrupted,  and  the 
property  of  hisr  merchants  captured  even  in  their 
own  seas.  It  is  true  indeed  that  the  balance  of 
captures  was  in  favour  of  England;  but  the  pro- 
portion of  prizes  made  by  this  country  was  far 
below  the  proportional  superiority  of  her  navy; 
jior  did  it  seem  too  much  to  expect,  from  the  means 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  board  of  admiralty, 
that  every  American  vessel  that  put  to  sea  should  be 
made  to  swell  the  number  of  British  captures.  (29) 
M 


«Xbb  operations  of  the  British  armaments  on  the 
coast  of  the  United  States,  had  hitherto  been  on  a 
small  scale,  and  calculated  rather  to  alarm  and 
irritate  than  to  promote  any  permanent  effect;  but 
during  the  present  year  the  resolution  was  taken 
to  "destroy  and  lay  waste  such  towns  and  dis- 
tricts upon  the  coast  as  miglit  be  found  assail- 
able,''* and  for  this  purpose,  a  large  naval  arma- 
ment was  employed,  under  the  command  of  vice- 
admiral  sir  Alexander  Cochrane,  having  on  board 
a  powerful  land  force,  commanded  by  major  gene- 
ral Robert  Ross.  On  tUe  17th  of  August,  admiral 
Cochrane  entered  the  Patuxent,  with  the  intention 
to  co-operate  with  rear-admiral  Cockburn;  in  an 
attack  upon  a  flotilla  of  the  enemy's  gun  boats, 
under  the  command  of  c  mmodore  Barney,  and 
with  the  ulterior  object  of  striking  a  decisive  blow 
against  the  capital  of  the  United  States.  On  the 
19th,  the  army  landed  at  Benedict,  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Patuxent,  without  opposition;  and  on 
the  22d  the  expedition  reached  Pig  Point,  where 
admiral  Cockburn  descried  the  broad  pendant  of 
the  American  flotilla.  No  time  was  lost  in  the 
British  boats  in  advancing  to  the  attack;  but  on 
their  near  approach,  it  was  disco vercl  thoi  aii  *k. 


the 


Admiral  Cochrane 
Tonnant,  Aug^ust  IjBth,  18.'0 


s  Letter  to  Mr.  Monroe,  dated  on  board 


140 


THE  UWITED  STATES 


enemy's  vessels  were  abandoned,  and   before  they 
could  be  taken  possession  of,  sixteen  out  of  the  se- 
venteen, of  which  the  flotilla  consisted,  were  blown 
into  the  air.     The  British  commanders  now  resol- 
ved to  proceed  against   Washington,   from   which 
they  were  distant  only  sixteen  miles.    Late  in  the 
evening  of  the  22d,  the  American  general  Winder, 
to  whose  command  the  army  appointed  to  cover 
the  capital  was  confided,  was  joined  by  the  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  the  secretary   at  war, 
the  secretary  of  the  navy,   and   the  attorney-ge- 
neral;  and  in  the  morning  of  the  23d,  the  troops 
were  (hawn  up  at  Battalion-Old-Fields,  within  five 
five  miles  oftlie  capital,  and  passed  in  review  be- 
fore the  president.    On  the  24th,  the  British  troops, 
resumed  their  mat'ch,  and  about  twelve  o'clock,  the 
enemy  was  discovered  formed  in  two  lines,  strong- 
ly posted  en  commanding  heights,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Potowmac,  his  ad- 
vance occupying  a  fortified  house,  which,  with  ar- 
tillery, covered  the  bridge  over  which  general  Ross 
had  to  pass;  while  a  broad  and  direct  road,  leading 
from  the  bridge  to  Washington,  ran  through  the 
enemy's  position,  which  was  carefully  defended  by 
artillery  and  riflemen. 

The  proper  dispositions  being  made,  the  attack 
was  commenced  with  so  much  impetuosity  by  the 
light  brigade,  consisting  of  the  85th  light  infantry, 
and  the  light  infantry  companies,  under  the  com- 
mand of  rnlnnpl  Thnrnfnn.    thai-  fko  f^^Aia^A  l.^..o/> 

was  shortly  carried,  and  the  enemy  obliged  to  re- 


AWD  GREAT  BRITAIN". 


141 


tire  to  the  hoights.    In  support  of  tlie  light  brigade, 
general  Ross  ordered  up  a  brigade   under  colonel 
Brooke,  who,  with  the  44th  regiment,  attacked  the 
enemy's  left,  nndek  general  Smith;  the  4th  regi- 
ment pressing  his  right,  under  general  Stansbury 
with  such  effect,  as  to  cause  him  to  abandon  his 
guns.    The  first  line  having  given  way,  was  driven 
upon  the  second,  which,  yielding  to  the  irresistible 
attack  of  the  bayonet,   and  the  well-directed  dis- 
charge of  rockets,  was  thrown  into  confusion,  and 
fled,  leaving  the  British  masters  of  the  field.     Tlie 
rapid  flight  of  the  enemy,   and  his  perfect  know- 
ledge of  the  country,  precluded  the  possibility  of 
making  many  prisoners;  and  the  fatigue  to  which 
the  troops  had  bcrn  exposed  by  a  march  of  eleven 
miles  before  the  battle  commenced,  on  a  sultry 
day,  prevented  the  pursuit  from  being  followed  up 
with  vigour.     The  enemy's    army  amounted  to 
from  eight  to  nine  thous^d  men,  with  three  or 
four  hundred  cavalry;*  his  artillery,  ten  pieces  of 
which  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors,  was  com- 
manded l^y  commodore  Barney,  who  was  wounded, 
and  taken  prisoner.     The  retreating  army  being 
ordered  to  move  upon  Washington,  general  Winder 
repaired  to  that  city,  where  a  council  was  hastily 
called,  at  which  Mr.  Monroe,   the   secretary  of 

•  General  Boss's  despatches.  According  to  the  American 
official  accounts,  their  force  did  not  exceed  6,053  infantry  and 
cavaliy.  The  British  force,  on  the  same  authority,  is  stated  at 
4,500.  See  ^^Jteport  of  the  Cofimittee  of  InvesHgatim  on  the  Cat. 
*ure  of  Wathingtony"  dated  November  83,  1814, 
H  2 


142 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


sta%  iin<!  .u:cnpral  Armytrong,  the  secretary  at  war, 
asHistod.  anr!  at  wliicli  it  was  the  prevailing  opinion, 
thiit  iVorti  the  (lispersion  of  a  large  proportion  of 
tlie  Amtiican  force,  and  the  disorganized  state  of 
tic  remainder  of  the  ami}',  the  defence  of  the  city 
was  fmnracticable.  Under  this  desponding  im- 
pression, the  trooi)s  were  ordered  to  retreat  to 
George  Town,  and  to  take  up  a  position  upon  the 
Iwights  in  the  vicinity  of  that  place. 

General  Ross,  after  having  halted  his  arn^y  for 
a  few  hours,  determined  to  march  upon   Wasliing- 
ton,  and  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  array 
under  ^  his  command  reached  that   city.      Judging 
it  of  consequence  to  complete  the  destruction  of  the 
public  buildings  with  the  least  possible  delay,  the 
capital,   including  the  senate  house,   and  house  of 
representatives,  was  consigned  to  the  flames;  and 
the  arsenal,  the  dock-yard,  the  treasury,   the  war- 
office,  and  the  president's  palace,  with  a  rope  walk, 
and  the  great  bridge  across  the  Potowmac,  shar- 
ed the   same  fate.      In  the  dock-yard,  a  frigate 
nearly  ready  to  be  launched,  and  a  sloop  of  war, 
were  consumed.      The   object  of  the  expedition 
being  thus  accomplished,  general  Ross  determined 
to  withdraw  the  troops  before  any  great  force  of 
the  enemy  could  le  assembled.     On  the  evening  of 
the  25th,  the  army  left  Washington;  and  having 
reached  Benedict  on  the  £9tli,  the  whole  force, 
estimated  at  five  thousand  men,  was  embarked  on 
the  following  day  without  molestation.      The  total 
loss  of  the  British  in  the  battle  of  Bladensburg 
amounted  only  to  sixty-four  killed^  and  one  hun^ 


AND  0RE4T  BRITAIN. 


143 


drcd  and  eiglity-five  wounded;*  and  the  loss  of 
the  American  army,  as  stated  in  their  own  ac- 
counts, in  killed,  wounded^  and  prisoners,  amount- 
ing only  to  one  hundred  and  eighty.  Two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  pieces  of  cannon,  five  hundred  and 
forty  harrels  of  gun-powder,  and  one  hundred 
thousand  ball-cartridges,  swelled  the  trophies  of 
the  victorious  army;  and  the  repeated  explosions 
which  took  place  in  the  city  of  Washington  and 
its  neighbourhood  during  tlie  night  of  the  24th, 
sufficiently  proved,  that  the  injury  suffered  by  the 
enemy  was  still  more  considerable.! 

The  capture  of  Washington  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion, not  only  in  England  and  America,  but  also 
in  France,  and  other  parts  of  Europe.  In  Eng- 
land, the  intelligence  was  at  first  received  with 
great  exultation,  and  it  was  confidently  expected 
that  Mr.  Madison,  who  liad  witnessed  the  destruc- 
tion of  his  capital,  and  had  been  made  personally 
sensible  of  the  superiority  of  British  troops,  would 
now  sue  for  peace;  or  at  least,  that  he  would  be- 
come so  decidedly  unpopular,  that  the  general  voice 
of  his  country  would  hurl  him  from  that  elevation 
which  he  had  so  unworthily  attained.  Such  were 
the  firet  impressions  which  the  intelligence  of  this 
event  created  in  England^  but  these  expectations 

•  Despatdies  from  general  Ross  to  Earl  Bathurst,  dated  on 
board  the  Tonnant,  Aug^ist  30th,  181*. 
f  The  destruction  of  public  property  at  Washington,  exclu- 

dollars. — Report  of  the  Committee  of  Investigation,  an  the  Capture 
of  Wathington, 


144 


THE  VAITBD  STATES 


soon  gave  way  to  more  sober  views.     It  was  con- 
sidered that  Washington,  though  nominally  the  cap. 
ital  of  the  United  States,  could  not  boast  a  popu- 
lation  exceeding  some  of  our  manufacturing  villa- 
ges;  that  its  number  of  houses  scarcely  amounted 
to  nine  hundred;  and  that  the  inhabitants  in  the 
city  and  its  suburbs  were  stated  in  the  last  census 
of  the  United  States  at  only  eight  thousand  two 
hundred  and   eight  souls.      Such  a  capital  was 
not  then  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  an  Euro- 
pean metropolis;  and  the  question  naturally  arose, 
whether  the  feelings  to  which  its  destruction  would 
give  rise  would  increase  or  diminish  the  populari- 
ty  of  the  war  party  in  America.     Nor  could  it  be 
concealed  that  the  extent  of  devastation  inflicted 
by  the  victors  brought  a  heavy  censure  upon  the 
British  character,   and  lowered  her  rank  in  the 
scale  of  nations.    It  was  indeed  acknowledged  that 
strict  discipline  was  observed  while  the  troops  were 
in  possession    of  Washington,    and  that   private 
property  was  scrupulously  protected;  but  the  de- 
struction,   not    only   of  etablishments   connected 
with  war,  but  of  edifices  consecrated  to  the  pur- 
pose of  civil  government,    and    affording  speci- 
mens  of  the  advance  of  the   fine   arts   among  a 
rising  people,  was  thought  an  indulgence  of  ani- 
mosity, more  suitable  to  the  times  of  barbarism, 
than  to  an  age  and  nation  in  which   hostility  is 
softened  by  sentiments  of  generosity,   and  civili- 
ased  policy.     History  presents  many  instances  of 
the  hostile  conflagration  of  palaces,  but  these  ex- 
cesses have  seldom  failed   to   be  reprobated   as 


AHU  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


141 


acts  of  unmanly   vengeance.      Retaliation,   it    is 
true,    baa  usually  been  the  pretext  for  iiostilities 
exceeding   the   prescribed   measure;    and    in   the 
present  case,  Wie  excesses  committed  by  the  Ame- 
ricans in  their   invasion   of  Canada,    have   been 
made  the  apology  for  the  devastations  at  Wash- 
ington;  but  it  has  been  seen  that  ample  retribu- 
tion had  already  been  taken  for  these  enormities^ 
and    the   governor-general  had,   on   the   10th   of 
February,    in  tlie  present  year,  explicitly  decla- 
red, that  tJie  measure  of  retdiation  for  the  mis- 
conduct  of   the  American   troops   was   full   and 
complete.*      These  reflections  fix  themselves  upon 
the  mind  u'ith  irresistible  force;  and  will  be  duly 
appreciated  by  every  one  who  has  at  heart   the 
honour  and  moral  r^utation  of  Ms  country^  as 
well  as  her  character  for  military  prowess. 

At  the  time  that  admiral  Cochrane  advanced 
up  the  Patuxent^  captain  Gordon,  of  the  Seahors£» 
proceeded  with  several  vessels,  up  the  Potowmac; 
but  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  the  navigation,  it 
was  not  till  tho  27th  of  August  that  he  reached 
fort  Washington.  On  the  evening  of  the  same 
day,  the  bombardment  of  the  place  was  commen- 
ced, and  the  effect  was  so  irresistible,  that  the 
garrison,  after  spiking  their  cannon,  blew  up  the 
works,  and  abandoned  the  fortress.  The  small 
commercial  town  of  Alexandria,  being  now  left 
without  defence,  was  obliged  to  capitulate,  and  the 
municinal  authoritv  stinulated  for  the  nreservation 


•  Letter  from  sir  George  Prevost  to  general  Wilkinson. 


f^'" 


146 


TBB  VlflTSD  STATU 


of  the  place  by  the  Hurrender  of  all  the  atoreM, 
in  r^handise.    and    shipping.      This  capitulation 
Wft8  aignod  on  the  S9th,  and   the   whole   of  the 
captured   vesaols,    being  twcnty-one  in  number, 
were  brought  off,    Hchly  IVolghted  with  tobacco, 
flour,  and  cotton,    ai  well  as  with  public  stores. 
A  small  expedition  against  the  town  of  fiellair, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Chesapeake,  undertaken  by 
captain  sir  Peter  Parker,   of  his  majesty's  ship 
Menelaus,  terminated  less  favourably.      On  the 
night  of  the  SOth  of  August,   about  one  hundred 
'■  llnd  twenty  men  were  landed,  and  marched  against 
the  en*my,  who  were  found  drawn  up  in  line  be- 
fore  their  camp,  in  the  midst  of  woods,  and  in 
much  greater  force  than  had  been  anticipated.   The 
gallant  captain,    unintimidated  by  the  superior 
numbers  to  which  he  was  opposed,  did  not  hesitate 
to  commence  the  attack|  but  at  the  moment  when 
he  was  animating  his  men  to  the  assault,  he  recciv- 
ed  a  mortal  wound,  and  bis  troops,  after  forcing 
the  enemy  to  retreat,  fell  back  to  the  beach,  and 
abandoned  the  enterprise. 

The  approach  of  the  autumnal  equinox  render- 
ing it  unsafe  for  the  British  fleet  to  quit  the  Ches- 
apeake,  it  was  determined  by  admiral  Cochrane, 
and  general  Ross,  to  employ  the  intermediate  time 
in  an  attempt  upon  the  important  maritime  city  uf 
Baltimore,  which  had  been  thrown  into  the  utmost 
alarm  by  the  fate  of  the  neighbouring  capital.  The 
admiral  accordingly  sailed  up  the  bay  on  the  2  Ith 
of  September,  and  aiichorod  off  the  mouth  of  the 
Patapsco  river,  on  the  north  side  of  which,  round 


*»»  OBBAT  BEITAIir.  14^ 

•  kind  of  bMln.  Baltimore  I.  .itqated.     On  tl.« 
following  day,  th«  troop.,   to  the  amount  of  from 
•even  to  eight  thousand,*  wore  debarked  at  North 
lolnt,  about  thirteen  mile,  from  the  town,  the  ap- 
proach  to  which  i.  through  «  pcninmila,  formed 
by  the  Patap.co  and  Back  river..     Aero.,  thi. 
neck  of  Ian;'  an  Intrenchment  extended,  which  the 
American,  were  diligently  employed  in  completlngi 
but  on  the  approach  of  the  BrltUh  force,  these 
work,  were  precipitately  .ibnndoned,  and  the  Ame- 
"can  general,  Strieker,  took  up  a  poeition  at  the 
junotion  of  two  road.,  leading  from  Baltimore  to 
tie  bay.    At  tlii.  point,  the  advance  of  the  two  ar- 
inie.  became  engaged,  and  general  Ron.,   ..;„  the 
danger,  of  the  field  ever  active  and  foremost,  and 
m  Ills  devotion  to  the  lionour  of  iii.  country,  and 
to  tlie  reputation  of  hi.  troop.,  unfortunately  too 
iicedles.  of  hi.  personal  .afcty,  cxp<wcd  hlm«;lfto 
tlie  aim  of  the  enemy',  ridemcn,  and  fell  gloriously 
and  lamented."     Perceiving  hi.  wound  to  bo  roor- 
tal,  be  sent  for  colonel  Brookej  to  tlii.  officer,  the 
•lyng  general  confided   hi.  instruction.}  and  ha- 
ving  discharged  hi.  l8.t  duty  to  hi.  country,  li« 
breathed  out  hi.  gallant  spirit,  exclaiming,  affec 
tmnately  _  "My  dear  wife !" 

The  British  army,  now  placed  under  the  com- 
mand  of  colonel  Brooke,  continued  to  press  for- 
ward,  till  they  arrived  within  five  mile,  of  Balti-  ' 
more,  where  a  coi,,.  „f  about  six  thousand  men.  ' 
■unuergenwai  Sirlcker,  supported  by  .ix  pieces  of 

•  GenetlilSmiU»'»DMpat?lw». 


'-% 


|4d  THE  UNITBD  8TATB8 

artillery,  and  augnniented  by  several  hundred  ear- 
riry,  were  discovered,  posted  under  cover  of  a 
wood,  drawn  up  in  close  order,  and  lining  a  strong 
paling,   which  crossed  the  main  road   nearly  at 
right  angles.     Tlie  signal  heing  given,  the  whole 
of  the  British  troops  advanced   rapidly  to  the 
charge,  and  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes,  the  ene 
my's  force,   being  utterly  broken  and  dispersed, 
fled  in  every  direction  over  the  country,  leaving 
on  the  field  two  pieces  uf  cannon,  with  a  consider- 
able number  of  killed,   wounded,    and  prisoners. 
Durir^  the  niglit  of  the  12th,  the  British  army  bi- 
vouacked on  the  ground  of  which  the  enemy  had 
been  dispossessed^  and  at  ten  o'clock  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  the  troops  had  advanced  to  a  fa- 
vourable position,  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the 
city.     On  reconnoitring  the  enemy's  works,  it  was 
found  that  the  detached  hills,   by  which  Baltimore 
is  surrounded,   were  covered  by  a  chain  of  pallisa- 
doed  redoubts,  connected  by  a  small  breast  work, 
and  defended  by  an  army  of  about  fifteen  thousand 
men,  with  a  large  train  of  artillery.    Notwithstand- 
ing these  formidable  preparations,  colonel  Brooke, 
relying  upon  the  description  of  force   under  his 
command,    determined  upon  a  nocturnal  attack, 
and  had  made  his  arrangements  accordingly,  but 
in  the  course  of  the  evening  a  communication  was 
received  from  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  naval 
forces,  by  which  he  was  informed,  that  an  attack 
on  Fort  M'Uenry  iiatt  laueu^  anu  ii-av,  m  ^.v«=^- 
quence  of  the  entrance  to  the  harbour  of  Baltimore, 
being  closed  by  vessels  sunk  for  that  purpose  by 


AND  OllEAT  BSITAIir. 


149 


the  enemy,  a  liaval  co<«operRtioii  against  the  town 
and  camp  was  founil  impracticable.  Under  these 
circumstancesy  it  was  resolved  not  to  hazard  an 
attack  upon  the  heights;  and  at  half  past  one  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  ISth^  the  British  army  com- 
menced its  retreaty  with  perfect  order  and  regula- 
rity, towards  the  mouth  of  the  Patapsco*  Having 
ascertained,  at  a  late  hour  in  the  morning  of  the 
16th,  that  the  enemy  had  no  disposition  to  quit  his 
intrench ments,  the  army  was  moved  down  to  North 
Point,  and  there  ro-embarkcd,  along  with  about 
two  hundred  prisoners,  being  persons  of  the  best 
families  in  Baltimore,  without  leaving  a  single 
British  soldier  behind.^  The  expedition  against 
Baltimore,  though  unsuccessful  as  to  its  primary 
and  ulterior  objects,  appears  to  have  been  attended 
with  considerable  success.  The  victory  of  the  13th, 
was  most  honorable  to  our  arms,  and  was  obtained 
at  an  expense  of  not  more  than  two  hundred  and 
ninety  men  killed  and  wounded;  while  the  enemy, 
though  strongly  intrenched,  had  a  thousand  men 
put  hors  de  combat*  He  was  besides  compelled  to 
sink  upwards  of  twenty  vessels  in  various  parts 
of  the  harbour;  to  remove  almost  the  whole  of  the 
private  property  out  of  the  town;  to  concentrate 
his  military  force  from  the  neighbouring  states; 
and  to  burn  several  public  buildings,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  clearing  the  glacis  in  front  of  the  redoubts.'^' 
The  American  commander,   however,  took  a  very 

rliflrAt*Anf  viAnr  nf  4'ho  i«Aaiilf  t\f  ihia  aniAnnmioo  An 

•  Colonel  Brooke's  Despatches,  dated  on  board  the  Tonnant, 
in  the  Chesapeake,  September  17,  1814. 

N 


150 


TUS  imiTBD  STATES^  kc. 


cordii^g  to  hia  stulement^  mado  to  the  secretary  al 
wftr,  the  loss  of  the  AmericanB^  in  killed  and 
woundedf  on  the  1  Sth»  did  not  exceed  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men;  among  the  former  of  ivliom  was 
James  Lowry  Donaldson^  Esq.  a  representative  in 
the  state  legislature;  while,  on  the  same  authority, 
the  loss  of  the  British  is  estimated,  ^as  near  as 
could  be  ascertained,"  at  between  six  and  seven 
hundred,  including  the  commander-in-chief.* 

♦  General  Smithes  Despatches,  dated  Baltimore,  September 
19,  1614. 


■.M'  , 


An  expedition  to  tfril^inotiscot,  under  lieutenant- 
general  sir  J.  C.  Sherbrooke»  and  rear-admiral 
Griffith,  undertal^en  in  the  month  of  August,  was 
attended  with  complete  success.  Tiie  Britisit 
troops,  after  obliging  the  Americans  to  destroy 
the  John  Adams  frigate,  which  liad  taken  refuge 
in  the  river  at  Hamden,  took  permanent  possession 
of  the  northern  part  of  the  district  of  Maine,  in 
tlie  name  of  liis  Britannic  majesty,  and  opened  a 
direct  communication  between  Canada  and  New 
Brunswick. 

It  has  already  been  observed,  that  the  species  of 
warfare  announced  by  admiral  Cochrane  on  the 
18th  of  August,  and  the  devastations  made  on  the 
capital,  and  on  the  coast,  of  the  United  States, 
produced  a  deep  sensation  in  America;  and  on  the 
1st  of  September,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by 
the  president,  exhorting  the  people  to  unite  their 
hearts  and  hands  to  give  effect  to  the  ample  means 
they  po6  essed,  to  chastise  and  expel  the  invaders. 
On  the  goth  of  the  same  month,  the  representatives 
of  the  American  people  assembled  in  congress, 
when  the  same  subject  was  resumed,  and  dilated 
upon  in  the  presidential  message:— 

said,  could  not  be  yet  known;  and  if,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  repeal  of  the  orders  in  council,  and  the 


152 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


general  pacificatidn  of  Europe,  which  withdrew 
the  occasion  on  which  impressments  from  Ameri- 
can vessels  were  practised,  suggested  the  expecta- 
tion that  peace  and  amity  might  be  i*e-established; 
yet  on  the  otlier,  the  refusal  of  the  British  govern- 
ment to  accept  the  offered  mediation  of  the  empe- 
ror of  Russia^  tJie  delays  in  giving  effect  to  her 
own  proposal  for  a  direct  negotiation^  and  above 
aUi.rjthe  principles  and  manner  in  which  the  war 
was  now  avowedly  carried  on,  led  to  the  inference, 
that  a  spirit  of  hostility  was  indulged,  more  vio- 
lent than  ever,  against  the  rights  and  prosperity 
of  the  linited  States.    This  increased  violence  was 
be^t  explained  by  two  important  circumstances:  in 
the  first  place,  the  great  contest  in  Europe  had 
terminated  without  any  check  being  given  to  the 
overbearing  power  of  Great  Britain  on  the  ocean; 
and  in  the  second,  immense  armaments  were  now 
at  her  disposal,  with  which,  with  the  example  of  a 
great  victim  before  her  eyes,  she  cherished  the 
hope  of  still  further  aggrandizing  a  power  already 
formidable  in  its  abuses  to  the  tranquillity  of  the 
civilized  and  commercial   world.    But  whatever 
might  inspire  the  enemy  of  the  United  States  with 
these  more  violent  purposes,  the  public  councils  of 
a  nation,  more  able  to  maintain  than  it  was  to  ac- 
quire its  independence,  could  never  deliberate  but 
on  the  most  effectual  means  for  defeating  the  ex- 
travagant views  or  unwarrantable  passions  with 


?7  2SS.^  ZZ 


-VQ. 


her.    Adverting  to  the  events  of  the  present  cam- 
paign, Mr.  Madison  says,  "the  enemy,  with  all  his 


AND  GREAT  BAITAIK. 


15& 


augmented  means  and  wanton  use  of  them,  has 
little  ground  for  exultation;  unless  he  can  feel  it 
in  the  success  of  his  recent  enterprize  against  tMs 
metropolis,  and  the  neighbouring  town  of  Alexan- 
dria; from  both  of  which  his  retreats  were  as  pre- 
cipitate as  his  sitttempts  were  bold  and  fortunate.-— 
In  his  other  incursions  on  our  Atlantic  frontier,  his 
progress,  often  checked  and  chastised  by  the  mar- 
tial spirit  of  the  neighbouring  citizens,  has  had 
more  effect  in  distressing  individuals,  and  in  dis- 
honouring his  arms,  than  in  promoting  any  object 
of  legitimate  warfare.  And  in  the  two  instances 
mentioned,  however  deeply  to  be  regretted  on  our 
part,  in  his  transient  success,  which  interrupted 
for  a  moment  only  the  ordinary  public  business  at 
the  seat  of  government,  no  compensation  can  ac- 
ck*ue  for  the  loss  of  character  with  the  world,  by 
this  violation  of  private  property,  and  by  this  des- 
truction of  public  edifices^  protected  as  monuments 
of  the  arts  by  the  laws  of  civilized  warfare.*'  The 
president  then  proceeds  to  take  a  retrospect  of  the 
events  of  the  campaign  naval  and  military;  and 
passing  from  that  topic  ta  the  financial  affairs  of 
the  republic,  states,  that  the  money  received  into 
the  treasury  during  the  nine  months,  ending  on  the 
ISth  of  June,  1814,  amounted  to  thirty-two  mil- 
lions of  dollars^  of  which  eleven  millions  were  th« 
proceeds  of  the  public  revenue,  and  the  remaindler 
derived  from  loans*  The  disbursements  for  pub- 
lic expenditures  during  the  same  period,  exceeded 


:V7W2.     MSS2S£X7S:i7  VS 


!vsssii  s^    auvi   svis.  lu  «.nv  ViT^'<^' 


N  2 


154 


THE  UNITED  STATES 


II 


»ury  on  the  let  of  J|ily,  nearly  five  millions.  The  ne- 
cessity uf  providing  for  the  wants  of  tlie  state,  both 
in  men  and  inoney>  is  next  brought  under  consid- 
crtiUon,  and  the  message  concludes  with  the  fre- 
Quently  re|)eated  declaration,  that  America  was 
forced  into  the  war  by  the  violence  and  injustice  of 
her  enemy,  and  that  she  still  retains  an  undimin- 
ished disposition  towards  peace  on  honourable 
terms. 

That  part  of  the  president's  message  which  re- 
lates to  finances,  was  i-eferred  to  a  committee  of 
ways  and  means^  who  made  their  report  in  the 
course  of  the  same  month.     In  this  report,  it  was 
stated,  t!ikt  the  resources  for  carrying  on  the  war, 
must  consist  in  taxes,  loans,  and  treasury  notes.—- 
The  first,  it  was  said,  could  not  be  collected  in 
time  to  meet  the  immediate  exigencies  of  the  state. 
As  to  loans,  they  could  only  be  obtained  on  exor- 
bitant terms.    The  treasury  notes  therefore,  must 
be  had  recourse  to;  and  from  this  source,  a  con- 
siderable sum  might  be  raised,  and  a  general  cir- 
culating medium  created  for  every  part  of  the 
union.     With  regard  to  new  tax^,  the  committee 
i^marked,  that  several  manufactures,  which  had 
grown  up  in  the  United  States  in  consequence  of 
the  war  having  shut  them  out  from  foreign  mar- 
kets, were  in  such  a  flourishing  condition,  that 
they  would  bear  to  be  taxed^  and  the  amount  of 
the  proposed  increase  on  the  existing  taxes,  and  of 
the  new  duties,  was  estimated  at  eleven  millions 
six  hundred  and  thirtv-^fi ve  thQUfiand  dolfufS!  while 
the  whole  revenue^  under  the  old  system,  was  only 


AND  GBEAT  BRITAIN. 


155 


ten  millions  eight  hundred  thousand;  thus,  at  one 
step,  naore  than  doubling  the  taxation. 

Next  to  t*ie  financial  arrangements,  the  atten- 
tion of  the  American  government  was  directed  to 
the  army;  and  a  bill,  formed  under  the  direction  of 
a  military  committee,  and  grounded  on  the  sugges- 
tions of  the  secretary  at  war,  was  brought  into 
congress,  to  provide  for  filling  the  ranks  of  the 
army.  The  object  of  this  measure,  was  to  pre- 
serve and  render  complete  the  present  military  es- 
tablishment of  the  country,  amounting  to  sixty-two 
thousand  four  hundred  and  forty-eight  men;  and 
to  create  an  additional  permanent  force  of,  at  least, 
forty  thousand,  to  be  raised  for  the  defence  of  the 
cities  and  frontiers,  under  an  engagement  that  such 
corps  should  be  employed  within  certain  specific 
limits.  It  was  further  proposed,  that  the  whole  of 
the  white  male  population  of  the  United  States,  be- 
tween the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five,  should 
be  distributed  into  classes  of  twenty-five  each; 
every  class  to  furnish  one  able  bodied  man,  to  serve 
during  the  w^ar;  that  assessors  should  determine 
the  territorial  precincts  of  each  class,  so  that  the 
property  in  each  division  should  be  as  nearly  equal 
as  possible;  that  in  case  of  failure,  a  penalty  should 
be  levied  on  each  class,  to  be  paid  among  them  in 
proportion  to  the  property  of  each  individual;  and 
that  every  five  male  inhabitants,  liable  to  military 
duty,  who  should  join  to  furnish  one  soldier  during 
the  war,  should  be  exempt  from  service. 

jx  i3ia    ijiii     vfaa    ui3i;ussc;u    iH    uiu    vjiiiicu    iSiaieS 

with  great  freedom;  and  the  adversaries  of  the 


156 


THE  UNITED  STATES^  &C. 


ineasore  had  no  difficulty  in  discovering,  in  its  pro- 
visioiifl,  a  rapid  approximation  towards  the  French 
code  of  conscription.  But  events  were  taking 
place  at  Ghent,  which  rendered  it  highly  probable 
that  tiiere  would  be  no  necessity  for  carrying  into 
eifect  its  more  obnoxious  regulations. 


'M 


mP 


x^*.0r,^fS'^''y.=  imm^ 


DvRiKO  tb€  progress  of  the  negotiations  at  Ghent; 
the  hostile  operaitions  of  the  belligerents  extended 
to  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  On  the  15th 
of  September  fort  Bowyer»  at  the  eaKlern  entrance 
of  the  bay  of  Mobile,  was  attackec\  by  a  British 
naval  and  oiilitary  force,  under  the  command  of 
commodore  the  honorable  captain  William  Henry 
Percy,  and  colonel  Ni^bplls)  but  the  resistance 
made  by  major  William  I#awrence,  the  commander 
of  the  fort,  was  so  determined  and  successful,  that 
the  assailants  were  obliged  to  withdraw,  with  the 
loss  of  the  British  commQdore'9  ship,  the  Hermes^ 
which  took  <S re  and  exploded.  ,#*»«*  i^ 

In  the  months  of  De(^mber  and  January,  a  se- 
ries of  operations,  important  from  their  magnitude, 
and  disastrous  in  their  result,  took  place  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  New  Orleans,  the  capital  of  JUouis- 
iana.  When  the  winter  season  had  closed  the 
movements  Oi  the  armies  in  the  northern  regions 
of  the  United  States,  a  strong  military  force,  com- 
manded by  major-general  Keane,  was  despatched 
tOijthe  south,  on  board  of  the  fleet  under  vice- 
admiral  the  honourable  sir  Alexander  Cochrane. 
On  the  arrival  of  this  armament  in  the  vicinity  of 
Lac  Borogne,  it  was  found  necessary  to  attack  tlie 
enemy's  flottilla  on  that  lake;  and  this  service  was 
performed  with  so  much  skill  and  bravery  by  cap- 


15d 


TUB  i;nit£D  states 


tain  Lockyer,  that,  on  the  isth  of  December,  all 
the  American  vessels  were,  after  a  spirited  engage- 
went,    either  taken  or  destroyed.      This   impor- 
tant  operation  had  removed  the  only  obstacle  to 
the  debarkation  of  the  troops,  and,  on  the  morning 
of  the  fi3d,  the  army  landed  at  the  head  of  Lac  Bo- 
rogne,  with  no  other  opposition  than  that  presented 
by  the  rugged  and  swampy  nature  of  the  shore 
The  arrival  of  the  British  arm>    was  no  sooner 
■lade  known  to  general  Jackson,  the  American  com- 
mander in  Louisiana,  than,  placing  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  7th  and  44th  regiments,  with  a  body  of 
the  NAw  Orleans  and  Tennessee  militia,  he  advan- 
ced to  meet  the  invaders.     At  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  a  heavy  flanking  fii-e  was  opened  upon  co- 
lonel  Thornton's  brigade,-  but  the  temerity  of  the 
American  general  was  speedily  checked  by  the  use 
of  the  ba^onetj  and,  in  tho?orning  of  the  following 
day,  he  retreated  to  a  jiition  about  two  miles 
nearer  the  city.    On  the  25th,  major-general  the 
Hon.  sir  Edward    Pakenham,    accompanied   by 
major-general  Gibbs,  arrived  and  took  the  com- 
maud  of  the  army.     On  the  morning  of  the  firth, 
the  troops  moved  forward  in  two  columns,  and  drove 
in  the  enemy's  picquets,  to  a  situation  within  three 
miles  of  the  town,  where  their  main  body  was  dis- 
covered  strongly  posted  behind  a  canal,  with  a 
breast  work  in  front,  extending  from  the  Cypress 
Swamp  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  their  right 
resting  on  the  river,  and  their  left  touching  the 
wood.     On  the  1st  of  January,  1815,  major-gene- 
ral  sir  John  Lambert,    in  the  Vengcur,   with  a 


AlfB  GIIBAT  BBITAIJC, 


H9 


iber,  all 
engage. 

impor- 
taclo  to 
morning 
Lac  Bo- 
resented 
5  shore. 

sooner 
an  com- 
f  at  the 
body  of 

ad van- 
k  in  the 
pon  co- 
r  of  the 
the  use 
(lowing 
»  miles 
ral  the 
ied   hy 
e  com- 
5  firth, 
1  drove 
n  three 
as  dis- 
with  a 
ypress 
[•  right 
!^  the 
-gcne- 
kvith  a 


convoy  of  transports,  reached  the  outer  anchorage 
of  the  lake;  and,  five  days  afterwards,  his  reinforce 
ments  were  brought  up  to  the  advance  of  the  Eng. 
lish  position.    The  whole  of  the  7th  was  occupied 
in  active  preparations  for  the  aproaching  battle. 
Before  day-Ught  on  the  8th,  the  British  army  was 
formed  for  a  general  assault  upon  the  enemy's  lines, 
to  be  preceded  by  an  attempt,   with  a  detached 
force,  under  colonel  Thornton,  to  cross  the  Mis- 
sisippi,  and  to  carry  the  flanking  battery  erected 
by  the  enemy  on  the  right  side  of  that  rlverj  but 
various  unforeseen  difficulties  retarded  the  execu- 
tion  of  this  part  of  the  plan,  till  the  co-operation 
had  lost  its  effect.     The  morning  was  ushered  in 
by  a  shower  of  bombs  and  Congreve  rockets,  the 
army  advancing  at  the  same  time  to  storm  the  right 
and  left  of  the  enemy's  intrcnohments.  Sir  Edward 
Pakenham,  the  commander  of  the  forces,  «who,*^ 
says  general  Lambert,  "never  in  his  life  could  re- 
frain from  being  at  the  post  of  honour,  and  sharing 
the  danger  to  which  the  troops  were  exposed,  as 
Hoon  as  from  his  station  he  had  made  the  signal 
for  the  troops  to  advance,  galloped  on  to  the  front 
to  animate  them  by  his  presence,  and  was  seen 
>vith  his  hat  off,  encouraging  them  to  the  crest  of 
the  glacis.     It  was  there,  almost  at  the  same  time, 
iie  received  two  wounds,  one  in  the  knee,  and  ano- 
ther, which  was  almost  instantly  fatal,  in  the  body. 
He  fell  in  the  arms  of  major  M<Dougell,  his  aid-* 
de-camn.  and  breathed  his  last.     The  fall  of  tb?|? 
commander,  in  the  sight  of  the  troops,  together 
with  major-general  Gibbs  and  maJ|or-aBneral  Keane 


*- 


160 


TUB  VMtTED  St*AT«f 


being  botir  franro  affwrtrtileil  if  ^mimfe  ^m, 
wHb  many  otber  comnriHntHng  oflUcerii  and  ftiHber, 
the  preparationN  to  aid  in  crossing  the  ditch  not 
being  BO  forward  aa  they  ought  to  have  been|  caw- 
«ed  a  wavering  in  the  column*  which,  In  such  a 
aituation,  became  irreparable;  <«and  as  I  advanced 
with  the  reaerve,''  addsgeneml  Lambert,  "at  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  ft'om  the  line,   1  had 
the  mortification  to  observe  the  whole  falling  bacit 
upon  me  in  the  greatest  concision,"    The  repulse 
was  ao  decisive,  thac  every  attempt  to  restore  order 
In  the  ranks  proved  ineflfectual,  and  after  some  de- 
liberation it  was  judged  proper  to  draw  off  the 
troops,  and  to  abandon  the  attack.  Simultaneously 
with  this  advance  upon  general  Jackson's  lines,  wai 
the  attempt  made  by  colonel  Thornton  to  carry  the 
flanking  battery  of  the  enemy,  the  defence  of  which 
had  been  confided  to  general  Morgan.     At  first, 
the  Americans,  confident  in  their  own  security, 
shewed  a  good  countenance,  and  kept  up  a  heavy 
fire;  but  the  determination  of  the  British  troops, 
«it  this  point,   overcame  all  diflfScultiesj   and  the 
Kentucky  levies  ingloriously  fled,  drawing  after 
thew  by  their  example  the  remainder  of  the  forces, 
and  leaving  the  redoubts,  and  batteries,  with  six- 
teen pieces  of  ordnance,  and  the  colours  of  tlie 
New  Orleans  regiment,  in  the  possession  of  colo- 
nel Thornton.     On  learning  the  success  of  this  di- 
vision  of  the  army,  general   Lambert  despatched 
colonel  Dickson,  an  artillery  officer,  over  the  river, 
to  examine  whether  the  post  was  tenable;  but  find- 
ing, from  the  report  of  the  colonel,  that  it  could 


i«*A3|fc' 


AND  (JHEAT  BrUTAIIf. 


IGl 


not  bo  hold  with  security  by  a  Ntnallor  force  than 
two  tlioiinAiid  men,  he  ordered  tho  troopH  to  rctiro, 
and  Join  tlie  main  army. 

Tho  battle  of  Now  Orloann  was  diMtingiiiHiiod 
by  Hovcral  itriliing  charactorlHticH.     The  troopn 
engaged  on  eacii  Hide  may  bo  OHtiniatod,  at  a  modc- 
luto  computation,  at  ten  thounand;  and  uinco  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war,  no  engagement  liad  per- 
haps been  fouglit  with  ao  mucli  bravery,  and  none 
certainly  with  ho  disastrouH  a  result.    The  loss  of 
tbo  iiritish,  in  killed,    wounded,    and   nrinonors, 
amounted  to  two  thousand  and  forty,    including  in 
that  number  the  commander-in-chief,  and  two  other 
general  ofHcers,  one  of  whom,  general  Gibbs,  only 
Hurvived  his  wounds  till  the  following  day.      The 
loHs  of  the  enemy,  according  to  the  official  state- 
ment of  their  general,  was  incredibly  small,  and 
did  not  exeeed  six  killed,  and  seven  wounded,  ex- 
clusive of  the  casualties  on  the  riglit  bank  of  tho 
river,    and  by  the  addition  of  which  the  wliole 
number  was  only  swelled  to  seventy-one!*  (29)  ^^ 
This  heavy  loss  on  tho  part  of  the  Brithsh  army 
extinguished   all   hopes   of  success,    and   general 
Lambert,  after  holding  a  consultation  with  admi- 
ral Cochrane,  came  to  tho  decision  to  re-embark 
tho  troops,  and  to  abandon  the  enterprise. 

The  concluding  operation  of  tho  war  in  the  Gulph 
of  Mexico  was  the  capture  of  fort  Bowycr  on  Mo- 
bile Point.  On  the  7th  of  February  tho  fort  was 
invested  by  captain  Ricketts,  of  tho  Vengeur .  and 

♦  Despatehes  from  tlic  American  adjutant-general  to  tlic  Se- 
cretary at  War.  dated  New  Orleans,  Jan.  16, 1815. 

o 


163 


THB  UNITED  STATES,  ficC. 


in  the  course  of  a  few  days  the  trenches  were 
pushed  within  pistol-shot  of  the  works.  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Lawrence,  the  American  commander,  find- 
ing it  impossible  much  longer  to  resist  the  over- 
whelming force  by  which  he  was  assailed,  consen- 
ted to  capitulate,  and  on  the  11th,  the  garrison, 
consisting  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-six  men, 
surrendered  themselves  prisoners  of  war. 

The  last  naval  engagement  during  the  war  added 
the  President  frigate,  under  the  command  of  com- 
modore Decatur,  to  the  British  navy.  On  tlie  1 5th 
of  January,  a  squadron,  consisting  of  the  Majestic, 
captaiii  Hayes;  tlic  Tenedos,  captain  Hyde  Parker; 
the  £ndymioii,    captain  Hope;  and  the  Pomone, 
captain  Lumley;    while  stationed  off  the   Sandy 
Hook,  for  the  purpose  of  blockading  the  port  of 
New  York,  discovered  the  President  quitting  the 
harbour,  and  commenced  a  general  chase.    After 
an  anxious  pursuit,  continued  for  eighteen  hours, 
the  Endymion  frigate  placed  herself  alongside  the 
enemy,   and  a  warm  action  ensued,  which  was 
maintained  with  great  bravery  on  both  sides  for 
two  hours  and  a  half,  and  which,  on  the  arrival 
of  the  Pomone,  issued  in  the  surrender  of  the  Ame- 
rican frigate. 


Bi 


(CHAI^TIBm  TW. 


Beforb  the  events  which  have  just  passed  under 
review  took  place,  the  labors  of  the  plenipotentia- 
ries, assembled  at  Ghent,  were  brought  to  a  close; 
and  the  sanguinary  operations  on  the  shores  of  the 
Mexican  Gulph,  like  the  last  naval  engagement  off 
the  American  coast,  may  be  ranked  among  the 
posthumous  offspring  of  an  unnatural  contest  be- 
tween two  countries,  whose  true  interest  it  is,  at  all 
times,  to  clierisli  the  relations  of  peace,  and  to  ad- 
minister to  each  other's  prosperity  by  a  free  inter- 
change of  commercial  communication. 

On  the  8th  of  August,  the  day  on  which  the 
plenipotentiaries  of  Great  Britain  and  tlie  United 
States  held  their  first  conference  at  Ghent,  the 
English  ministers  submitted  to  the  American  com- 
missioners the  following  projet;  explanatory  of  the 
subjects  to  be  brouglit  nntler  discussion:—* 

1 .  The  forcible  seizure  of  mariners  on  board  of 
merchant  vessels,  and,  in  connection  with  it,  the 
claims  of  his  Britannic  majesty  to  the  allegiance  of 
all  his  native  subjects. 

2.  The  Indian  allies  of  Great  Britain  to  be  in- 
eluded  in  the  pacification,  and  a  definite  boundary 
to  be  settled  for  their  territory. 

*  Draft  of  the  original  Protocol,  made  by  the  American  minis- 
ters at  the  two  first  conferences  held  with  the  British  commis- 
sioners. 


164 


THE  VNITED  STATES 


The  British  commissioners  stated  that  an  ar- 
rangement upon  this  point  was  a  sine  qua  non. 


S, 


A  revision  of  the  houndary  line  between  the 
United  States  and  the  adjacent  British  colonies. 

With  respect  to  tliis  point,  the  British  commis- 
sioners disclaimed  any  intention  on  the  part  of  their 
government  to  ac<iuirc  any  increase  of  territory. 

4.  The  fisheries;  respecting  which  the  British 
government  will  not  allow  the  ])eople  of  the  United 
States  the  privilege  of  landing  and  drying  fish,  with- 
in the  territorial  jurisdiction  of  Groat  Britain, 
without  an  equivalent. 

The  American  ministers,  at  the  second  meeting, 
which  wab  held  the  following  day,  stated,  that  upon 
the  first  and  third  points  proposed  by  the  British 
commissioners,  they  were  prepared  with  no  instruc- 
tions from  their  government;  but  that  on  the  second 
fourth  of  these  points,  there  not  having  existed 
hitherto  any  difference  between  the  two  govern- 
ments, they  had  not  been  anticipated  by  the  United 
States,  and  were  therefore  not  provided  for  in  their 
instructions.     That  in  relation  to  an  Indian  pacifi- 
cation,  they  knew  that  the  government  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  had  appointed  commissioners  to  treat  for 
peace  with  the  Indians,  and  that  it  was  not  impro- 
bable that  peace  had  already  been  made  with  them. 
At  tb-  same  time,  the  American  commissioners 
presei.ted,   as  further  subjects,  considered  by  the 
government  of  the  United  States  as  suitable  for 
discussion,  the  following: — 

1.  A  definition  of  blockade,  and,  as  far  as  may 
be  agreed,  of  othei  neutral  and  belligerent  rights. 


AND  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


165 


2,  Cei'tain  claims  of  indemnity  to  individuals, 
for  captures  and  seizures  preceding  and  subsequent 
to  the  war. 

3.  They  further  stated,  that  there  were  various 
other  points  to  which  their  instructions  extend, 
which  might  with  propriety  be  the  subjects  of  dis- 
cussion, either  in  the  negotiation  of  the  peace,  or 
in  that  of  a  treaty  of  commerce;  wliich,  in  case  of 
a  propitious  termination  of  the  conferences,  they 
were  likewise  authorized  to  conclude.  That  for  the 
])urpose  of  facilitating  the  first  and  most  essential 
object  of  peace,  they  had-  discarded  every  subject 
which  was  not  considered  as  peculiarly  connected 
with  that,  and  presented  only  those  points  which 
appeared  to  be  immediately  relevant  to  the  negotia- 
tion. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting,  held  on  the  10th,  the 
British  commissioners  endeavored  to  impress  the 
American  ministers  with  the  propriety  of  giving  up 
certain  places,  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  the 
memorable  treaty  of  1783,  for  the  purpose  of  ren- 
dering the  limits  of  Canada  more  precise  and  se- 
cure; but  upon  this  point  the  Americans  were  im- 
moveable. 

The  most  important,  as  well  as  the  most  difficult 
subjects  in  dispute  between  the  two  countries  were, 
undoubtedly,  those  relating  to  the  impressment  of 
seamen  from  Americaii  ships,  and  the  limits  of 
blockade.  The  peace  in  Europe  had,  however,  re- 
duced these  Questions  to  mere  ahstrart  nrinrinlps. 
.  ^. . ^ 

regarding  the  future  rather  than  the  present;  and 
both  parties,  aware  cf  the  difficulty,  agreed  to  wave 


166 


THB  VHITEO  STATES 


JscuMions  upon  wl.ich  it  seemed  impossible  to  ar- 
L7«  f'"^!.'"''-"''"  """•^'"^ion-  The  other  sub- 
to  the  treaty,  and  the  establishmeHt  of  a  new  Cana- 

be  UA  in  the  same  situation  in  which  they  were 
found  .„  18,2;  and  on  the  latter,  that  any  am^bigj^! 

and  the  Un.ted  States  should  be  removed  by  com- 

il/tl'"*"' "'"""■■""'»"•  "-"''•awn  by  the 
Sol        '  "■"""  ^"""  *•"•  ''"""''"*^  "f  *"<='' 

This  amicable  termination  of  the  differences  be- 
tween  the  two  countries,  which  took  place  by  the 

^nature  of  the  treaty  of  peace  at  Ghen^on  the'.    . 

owfnr""  !!■'*''.''*'"' P'''"'"'"^'"'""- ■»«»«•"«. 
owing,  on  the  side  of  G,-eat  Britain,  to  the  want  of 

succ^s  which  had  attended  her  armies,  even  after 

reinforcements  had  been  sent  out  from  the  peninsu- 

laj  to  the  enormous  expense  of  sending  troops  to 

Canada,  and  keeping  ti.em  there;  to  the  critical 

state  of  the  public  finance;  and  to  the  apj.rehension, 

that  ,f  tbo  war  were  not  speedily  terminated,  some 

of  the  European  powers  might  make  common  cause 

with  America  on  the  point  of  maritime  right.      On 

the  side  of  the  United  States,  the  governm^.t  was 

disposed  to  peace   i-om  the  deranged  si;..ation  of 

their  commerce;  from  the  alarming  auj,mentati«n 

01  tl,e.r  national  expenditu.-e,  and  the  co..v.nuent 

embarrassment  of  their  finances;  from  the  -.^-per. 


AND  OBBAT  BRITAIN. 


167 


feet  organization  of  their  military  system;  and 
above  all,  from  the  devastations  to  which  their  coasts 
and  frontiers  had  become  exposed. 

In  both  countries  the  termination  of  the  war  was 
hailed  with  unfeigned  satisfaction;  but  the  force  of 
this  feeling  was  considerably  diminished  by  the  re- 
flection that  all  the  blood  and  treasure  expended  in 
the  prosecution  of  the  contest  had  been  lavished  in 
vain,  and  that  the  questions  in  dispute  remained  al- 
together  unadjusted. 


•*!«» 


\ 


t 


■  m!<i^m- i'|pa»!;s»ffe- ^fs-'^^m^-wx^ii^-.iMt  htm-  .^ni  ^i-%.y- 


iil^l'MTI^lZ' 


S5H 


(No.  1.) 

ffEj^rnrs  mscLosunEs. 
The  author  here  has  fallen  into  a  great  error. 
Henry  returned  into  Canada,  and  afterwards  pro- 
ceeded to  London,  and  there  preferred  a  claim  on 
the  British  government  for  compensation  of  his 
services,  which  he  proposed  to  cancel  for  an  ap- 
pointment, with  a  suitable  emolument^  cither  in 
Canada  or  the  United  States;  intimating  that  he 
would  accept  the  place  of  judge  advocate  general 
in  the  British  provinces,  or  a  sinecure  consulship 
in  the  United  States,  with  a  salary  annexed.  Hav- 
ing been  duped  and  disappointed  by  th.e  British 
ministry,  he  voluntarily  repaired  to  the  city  of 
Washington,  and  by  letter  to  the  Secretary  of 
State,  Mr.  Monroe,  proffered  to  disclose  his  ser- 
vices to,  and  connection  with  the  British  govern- 
ment. He  was  paid  the  sum  demanded;''*^  and  made 
a  communication,  accompanied  with  documents. 
Which  amply  shewed  that  Henry  had  been  engaged 

•  Fifty  thousand  dollars. 

A 


li 


APPENDIX. 


«»  a  spy,  and  the  fomcntop  of  discoid  among  the 
American  people.  The  British  ministry  have  nut 
keen  able  to  den>  tlj ^  e^^jjloyment  of  Henry,  and 
have  justly  inc»»'ii?fl,  ^i  homo  and  abroad,  all  the 
odium  of  the  triviwaction. 


(No.  2.) 

The  decease  of  the  minister,  the  Right  Honour- 
able Spencer  Perceval,  in  mentioned  hero,  not  su- 
perfluously,  according  to  the  author's  views  of  the 
bearing  of  his  measures  and  disposition  on  the  re- 
lations  of  the  two  countries.  In  a  biographical 
sketch  of  the  deceased  minister,  by  Mr.  Baincs, 
our  author,  there  are  the  following  remarks:— 

"The  decision  of  his  mind  sometimes  assumed  the 
character  of  obstinacy;  and  beseemed  to  have  imbi- 
bed  a  principle  which  a  prime  minister  should  never 
admit  into  his  thoughts,  that  a  measure  once  openlrj 
avowed,  ought,  on  no  account,  ever  to  be  abandoned. 
To  his  unyielding  temper,  tlie  American  war,  in 
which  the  country  was  plunged  soon  after  his  death, 
has  been  imputed." 

No  one  can  doubt,  for  a  moment,  that  had  the 
ministry,  then  led  by  Perceval,  yielded  their  opin- 
ions to  the  universal  clamour  of  the  mercantile 
conamunity  against  the  orders  in  council,  seconded 
with  uncommon  eloquence  and  zeal  by  Mr.  Uroug- 
ham  in  the  British  Parliament,  and  repealed  them 
.^,^.„  -„.„^.  ,„„„„j  _j.j-..^j.^  -jjg  ^j^j.  would  not  have 
been  declared  by  the  American  government.  Hence 


APPENDIX. 


m 


our  author    na,  with  reason,  laid  sonie  stress  upon 
the  incident  of  Mr.  Perceval's  death. 


(No.  3.) 

MOTIVES  OF  THE  WAR  PAHTY  JJV  THR  SOUTH. 

Tlie  author  has  here,  erroneously,  attributed  un- 
worthy motives  to  the  advocates  and  supporters  of 
the  war  in  the  soutliern  states.  In  that  section  of 
the  United  Sta  m,  the  people  were  governed  in  their 
sentiments  and  conduct  by  a  love  of  their  own  coun- 
try, indignation  for  the  multifarious  wrongs  in- 
flicted on  it  by  the  government  of  Grtat  Britain, 
and  a  spirited  determination,  by  all  lawful  and 
honourable  means,  to  punish  the  aggressor,  and  re- 
dress their  injuries.  Few  of  the  American  priva- 
teers were  owned  or  fitted  out  in  the  southern 
ports.  They  generally  belonged  to  tlio  middle 
and  eastern  states.  And  if  the  historian  had  been 
scrupulously  faithful  to  the  truth,  he  would  have  re- 
corded the  fact,  that  the  American  privateers  dur- 
ing the  war,  with  few  exceptions,  were  far  more 
animated  by  the  spirit  of  the  regular  navy,  than 
by  the  sordid  motives  of  buccaneers;  seeking  the 
glory  of  vict*  y,  by  honourable  battle,  ov^r  the 
enemies  of  their  country.  Many  instances  occurred 
of  the  gallant  privateers  passing,  without  nbtice, 
the  merciiantmen,  and  pursuing  to  the  most  despe- 
rate resulth  BritisI)  armed  vessels. 

(No.  4.) 
BALTIMORE  MOB. 

The  respectable  historian  lias  liere  adopted  tlie 
exparte  representation  of  tlie  Federal  Republican. 


ir 


APi'ENDIX. 


It  is  true,  tliw  outrage  was  '^regnrdccl  witb  indigna- 
tion III  cvei7  other  part  of  tlie  United  States,"  but 
not  more  so  tl.un  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.    And  it 
ought  to  he  understood,  timt  tUe  indignation  of  all 
sohiT-miuded  mon  was  not  confined  to  the  murder. 
y  of  Lingaii,  hut  was  justly  extended  to  the  con- 
duct  of  those,  who,  it  is  believed,  deliberately  plan- 
tied,  from  motires  of  pei^onal  and  political  aggran- 
dizement,  the  wanton  excitement  of  the  mob      The 
partial  representations  of  this  affair  have  brought 
"l>o»  the  ( iiy  a  load  of  unmerited  calumny^  but 
VNhile  we  unefiuivocally  condemn  all  disorderly  and 
riotous  aksniihlies,  we  feel  authorized  in  asserting 
that  no  city  in  the  United  States  has  a  more  sober 
ami  orderly  population  t^mn  Baltimore. 

(No.  5.) 

SUBJECTS  OF  THE  UJVITEJ)  STjiTES 

It  is  not  a  little  amusing  to  see,  oven  in  the  libe- 
ral and  vigorous  composition  of  Mr.  Baincs,  the 
phraseology  of  a  monarchist.  Who,  we  would  ask 
inm,  are  the  subjects  of  the  United  States?  TJie 
pcoiile  of  the  United  States  ^vefeUow-ciUzcns,  not 
subjects  of  any  prince  or  potentate. 

(No.  6.) 

HULL'S  SUJiJiEJ^VEH, 

Tiie  historian  hero  is  inaccurate  in  his  geography 
and  facts.  Maiden  is  not  on  tlie  Canard,  nor  did 
general  Hull  advance  at  all  against  that  post=  He 
haltod  at  Sandwich,  and  sent  out  exploring  parties 
on  several  days,  one  of  wliich  encountered  a  Bri- 


APPENDIX. 


tish  party  nt  the  bridjifo  on  tho  CftiiRrd;  but  the  ar- 
my never  attempted  to  cross  it.  Tlio  historian,  as 
may  be  seen,  proceeds  with  a  very  well  drawn  pic- 
ture of  general  Hull's  military  catastrophe,  but  con- 
cludes with  this  strange  solecism:— «By  this  cap- 
itulation, so  glorious  to  the  arms  of  Great  Britain, 
but  so  disgraceful  to  the  American  army,  not  less 
than  two  thousand  five  hundred  men  became  prison- 
ers, &c."  We  leave  it  to  British  philologists  to 
reconcile  this  phraseology,  and  to  divine  tho  mea- 
sure of  glory  won  by  the  conqueror  in  a  bloodless 
victory,  when  the  vanquished  are  disgraced.  This 
forcibly  brings  to  recollection  a  specimen  of  the 
profoundest  bathos  we  ever  met  in  military  story. 
In  a  British  panegyrick  on  general  Ross  and  his 
army,  for  defeating  the  Americans  at  Bladensburgh, 
and  capturing  the  city  of  Washington,  the  enco- 
miast, straining  his  eulogium  to  the  highest  key, 
says,  "On  our  forces  taking  the  field,  the  president, 
with  his  cabinet,  and  the  whole  American  army  ran 
away  like  a  flock  of  terrified  sheep!"  The  reader^ 
to  acquire  a  full  view  of  tlie  glory  of  the  achievement, 
according  to  this  metaphor,  has  only  to  imagine  th« 
British  army,  commanded  by  general  Ross,  enter- 
ing the  field  on  the  one  side,  while  on  the  other  a 
flock  of  frightened  sheep  are  escaping  at  full  speed. 
We  would  recommend  the  attention  of  the  histori- 
an to  the  result  of  the  court-martial  on  general  Hull, 
for  a  true  estimate  of  the  glory  acquired  by  the  Bri- 

5.SC.,  RaZJSj    ill  vUu  CupiUiO  Ui  iJv«rOi¥.       UO  WUM  ruunil 

guilty  of  neglect  of  duty,  unofflcer-like  conduct,  and 

A2 


fc?':^  -■ 


Vi 


APPENDIX. 


cowardice,  the  true  sources  of  all  the  glory  acquired 
on  the  oecasion  by  the  British  arms. 

(No.  7.) 

We  apprehend  the   author,   to   be  intelligible, 
8ho\ild  have  written  ordered  for  *«scwf." 


(No.  8.) 

B.iTTLE  OF  QUEEJVSTOrrjSr. 

This,  on  the  whole,  is  a  most  extravagant  and 
absurd  statement.  General  Wadsworth's  force  has 
just  ueeii  computed  at  nine  hundred;  by  the  killing, 
wounding,  deserting  and  surrenderingof  whom,  the 
Americans  are  made  to  sustain  a  loss  of  two  thousand,' 
The  truth  is,  that  not  more  than  one  thousand  Ameri- 
cans crossed  during  the  day;  about  four  hundred  of 
whom  were  militia  and  volunteers,  who  were  parol- 
ed on  the  field,  and  permitted  to  return  immediately 
to  the  United  States.  Besides  there  were  mutual 
exchanges  of  prisoners,  which  further  reduced  the 
loss  of  the  Americans.  Of  killed,  wounded,  and 
prisoners  retained,  we  suppose,  from  an  impartial 
examination  of  all  the  accounts,  the  American  loss 
was  about  six  hundred. 

(No.  9.) 

CAPTURE  OF  THE  GUERRIERE. 

The  historian,  in  giving  what  may  bo  said  to  be 
a  pretty  fair  statement  for  an  Englishman,  docs 
every  thing  in  his  power  to  sooth  the  mortification 
of  John  Bull.    Hence  he  says;  "The  battle  had  now 


APPE^D1X. 


vii 


raged  Cor  nearly  two  hours."  Captain  Hull,  nn 
his  very  modest  account  of  the  affair,  says  by  let- 
ter to  the  Secretary  of  tlie  Navy;  "After  informing 
that  so  fine  a  ship  as  tlic  Guerricre,  commanded  by 
an  able  and  experienced  officer,  had  been  totally 
dismasted  and  otherwise  cut  to  pieces,  so  as  to  make 
her  not  worth  to\>ing  into  port,  in  the  short  space 
of  thirty  minutes,  you  can  have  no  doubt  of  the  gal- 
lantry and  good  conduct  of  the  officers  and  ship's 
company  I  have  the  honour  to  command**' 

(No,  10.) 

THJJVKS  OP  COjYGRESS. 
The  historian  is  in  error  when  he  states  that  (he 
congress  of  the  United  States,  like  city  corpora- 
tions and  the  Irgislatures  of  New  York  and  Massa. 
chusetts,  voted  **thanks**  to  the  captain,  officers, 
and  cfew  of  the  Constitution.  Compliments  of 
high  character  were  voted  by  congress,  as  well  as 
the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  lieu  of  prize  mo- 
ney. The  thanks  of  congress  were  first  during  the 
War  voted  to  commodore  Perry,  and  aiterwards  to 
commodore  M»Donough,  their  officers  and  crews, 
on  the  occurrence  of  their  glorious  victories^  but,  as 
far  as  memiory  serves  at  present,  to  no  other  naval 
commander  for  a  naval  victory.  Commodore  Pat- 
terson, and  the  officers  and  men  under  hi'u,  receiv- 
ed the  thanks  of  congress  for  their  auxiliary  sery 
vices  in  the  defence  of  New- Orleans. 

THA^YKS  OF  COJYGRESS  JGJilM 

The  historian  commits  a  similar  error  with  that 
above  stated^  iu  saying  that  the  thanks  of  congress 


Vlll 


APPENDIX. 


were  voted  to  captain  Jones,  &c.  See  the  rcsolu- 
tions  of  congress,  which,  as  in  the  case  of  captaiw 
Hull,  express  the  high  sense  entertained  of  the 
gallantry,  good  conduct,  &c.  of  the  commander,  his 
officers  and  crew,  with  the  presentation  af  medals, 
swords,  &c. 

(No.  12.) 

MASSACRE  ^T  THE  RMSIJV. 

The  historian,  to  save  the  honour  of  the  British 
name,  has  chosen  to  suppress  the  sequel  of  this  af- 
fair;  hut  it  is  due  to  posterity,  that  the  tale  should 
be  fully  told,  wherever  the  British  arms  claim  a 
victory  in  the  battle  of  the  Raisin.     The  whole  ac 
count  here  given  is  defective.      The  right  wing  of 
the  Americans,  which  is  represented  to  have  been 
dnven  across  the  river,  after  a  contest  of  a  quarter 
of  asi  hour,  and  there  cut  off  by  a  large  body^f  In- 
dians  stationed  in  the  rear,  was  so  unfortunate  as  to 
receive  without  any  shelter  the  violence  of  the  first 
attack;  and,  in  attempting  to  change  its  line,  was 
thrown  into  confusion,  and  could  never  again  be 
formed.    In  this  deplorable  state  it  was  overwhelm- 
ed  by  the  fury  of  the  savage  storm.     Those  who 
betook  themselves  to  flight  across  the  river,  were 
pursued,  overtaken,  and  generally  massacred  by  the 
Indians.    The  left  wing  of  the  Americans,  covered 
by  a  light  picket,  kept  up  a  successful  defence,  un- 
til  the  general,  who,  as  has   been  stated,  was  cap- 
tured  in  the  disaster  of  the  right  wing,  deeming 
-^^^---ji=i„tarsuw„  u*.^,pi;r«ii;,  agretsii  io  surrender 
them  on  condition  of  being  protected  from  the  sav- 


APPENTDIX. 


IX 


a.?e9,  allowed  to  retain  private  property,  and  having 
their  side  arms  returned.     How  faithfully  the  Brit- 
ish commander  observed  the  terms  of  capitulation, 
the  result  will  testify.     Scarcely  had  the  surrender 
taken  place,  before  the  Indians  commenced  a  course 
of  violence  and  barbarity  on  the  prisoners,  especi- 
ally the  wounded.     Against  this  conduct  the  Amer- 
ican general  remonstrating,  insisted  on  tl  e  perfor- 
mance of  the  conditions,  which  had  placed  the  pris- 
oners in  the  power  of  their  enemies.      The  pledge 
of  protection  was  reiterated,  and  the  British  com- 
mander  promised  that  the  wounded  should  be  re- 
moved to  a  place  of  security  and  comfort  on  the  fol- 
lowing day.     Notwithstanding  this  engagement,  he 
marched  off  for  Maiden;  taking  with  him  the  able 
bodied  prisoners,  and  leaving  the  wounded  at  the 
mercy  of  his  savage  allies!     They  were  soon  strip- 
ped, murdered,  and  cast  naked  over  the  snow  for  the 
food  of  beasts.      Captain  Hart,  brother-in-law  of 
senator  Brown  and  speaker  Clay  in  congress,  hav- 
ing received  a  wound  in  the  knee,  had  the  supposed 
good  fortune  to  meet  in  captain  Elliot,  a  British  offi- 
cer,  an  old  acquaintance  and  class-mate  at  Prince- 
ton, from  whom  he  received  a  promise  of  protection, 
and  conveyance  tlie  next  day  to  the  comfort  and  hos- 
pitality of  his  own  quarters  at  Maiden.     This  mon- 
ster, leaving  captain  Hart  in  all  the  consolations  of 
his  engagements,   abandoned  him  to  a  cruel  fate. 
Suffering  the  most  off  nsivc  barbarities  at  tlie  hands 
v-i   tjiv.  Aiiuiaiio,  iiv  ill  iuiigiii  uiii  ^aiiicii  vviiii  one  of 
them  to  carry  him  to  Maiden,  paying  him  the  price 
stipulated.     He  set  off  witii  liis  guide  on  horseback: 


X  APPENDIX. 

but  before  they  had  gone  five   miles,   the   ci^ptaiii 
was  beset  by  a  fi-esh  band  of  savages,  who  shot, 
tomahawked,  and  scalped  him.  In  addition  to  these 
flagrant  outrages,  the  officers  and  men,  conduct- 
fid  to  Maiden  under  the  immediate  eye  of  the  Bri- 
tish commander,  were  robbed  of  their  money  and 
clothing;   and  their   arms  given  to  the   Indians. 
Could  it  be  credited,  that  tlie  British  authorities, 
with  the  full  knowledge  of  these  f^normi'^js,  did 
compliment  Proctor,  promoting  him  to  the  rank 
of  brigadier  general  for  his  services  on  this  oc- 
rasion,*  acknowledging   in  the   same  general   or- 
ders, the  essential  services,  bravery,  and  good  con- 
duct of  tiie  Indian  chief  Round  Head,  with  iiis  band 
of  warriors!!!     These  are  the  distinctive  features 
of  tlH)  honours  which  accrued  to  tlie  British  arms 
in  the  battle  of  the  Raisin,  which  tho  historian  has 
suppressed;  but  that  the  affair  might  redound  great- 
ly to  the  glory  of  general  Proctor,  the  number  of 
the  Indian  allies  are  stated  at  six  hundred;  the  fact 
being  notorious,  on  the  authority  of  the  late  gov- 
ernor  Madison  and  other  respectable  citizens  who 
were  present,  that  in  the  course  of  +iie  day  the  In- 
dians appeared  in  French  Town  to  the  number  of 
two  thousand  at  least. 


(No.  13.) 

CAPTURE  OF  OQliEJ^SBUMGII. 
The  affair  of  Ogdensburgh,  recorded  here  with 
80  much  parade  of  detail,  was  in  the  United  States 
«ivTti  -u^v-jirou  \ii  bumL ient  coiisi-quence  to  be  com- 
municated publicly  from  tho  war-departinent,  al 


APPENDIX. 


Xi 


though  it  seems  lo  liave  commanded  not  only  the 
compliments,  in  general  orders,  of  Sir  GciVge  Pro- 
vost,  the  governor  of  the  BHtish  provinces,  hut 
the  particular  attention  of  the  British  histonan.  A 
small  garrison  of  riflemen,  not  exceeding  two  hun- 
(Ired  and  fifty,  under  the  command  of  the  memora- 
hie  and  much  lamented  captain  Forsyth,  had  hecn 
kept  up  at  Ogdenshurgh.  A  Bri,  3h  force,  in  two 
columns  of  five  or  six  hundred  each,  attacked  the 
place  in  the  morning.  A  good  defence  was  made  hy 
( aptain  Forsyth,  hut  the  superior  numhers  of  the 
enemy  fojved  him  out  of  the  town,  with  the  loss  of 
twenty  men  killed  and  wounded.  The  barracks 
were  bunit^  and  the  public  stores,  trifling  in  amount, 
carried  off.  The  cannon,  stated  to  be  captured, 
were  not  in  service.  According  to  the  British  ofli- 
ciiil  report,  they  had  seven  killed  and  forty-cight 
wounded.  The  capture  of  four  officers  and  seventy 
privates,  by  the  enemy,  has  not  the  shadow  of  truth. 

(No.  14.) 

CAPTURE  OF  YORK. 
As  to  the  explosion  of  the  magazine,  which  kill- 
ed  general  Pike  andjjo  many  of  the  Americans, 
there  is  a  complete  issue  between  the  American  and 
British  reports.  In  the  United  Stales,  the  opinion 
of  general  Dearbor  i,  tliat  it  was  premeditated  by 
the  enemy,  seems  geriei-ally  to  have  been  received, 
while  in  the  British  accounts,  it  has  been  uniformly 
attributed  to  accident.  For  ourselves  we  have 
licver  beeii  able  satisfactorily  to  decide  the  question,- 
and  we  must  admit  that  all  which  appears  from  the 


■  ^■\ 


Xll 


APPENDIX. 


recital  of  general  Dearborn,  leaves  the  conclusion 
ratlier  against  his  own  opinion.      It  appears  that 
forty  of  the  enemy  were  killed  hy  tlie  explosion^  a 
pretty  strong  argument,  tliat  they  had  not  premed- 
itated the  horrible  catastrophe.     Nevertheless,  if  it 
wore  clearly  established  that  general  Shcaffe  was 
wholly  innocent  of  design  in  the  matter  there  was 
not  wanting  in  York,  the  capital  of  Upper  Canada, 
proof  of  the  demi-savage  character  of  Britons,  in 
their  hostilities  to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
General  Dearborn  £om\iX  in  the  Parliament  House 
a  hunirm  acalp,  suspcniled  near  the  speaker's  chair, 
in  company  wUh  the  mace.     What  could  have  been 
intended  by  this  hi>rrible  symbol,  we  are  wholly  at 
a  loss  to  imagine,  without  recurring  to  the  repeated 
instances  in  which  the  Bi'itisb  commanders  permit- 
ted, in  their  presence,  the  wounded  and  dead  Amer- 
icans to  be  scalped  and  otherwise  shockingly  muti- 
lated.    With  such  proofs  of  their  participation  in 
acts  of  this  kind,  as  the  events  of  the  war  furnish- 
ed, there  cannot  be  a  doubt  left,  that  the  British 
officers  and   troops  adopted  the  savage  custom  of 
reckoning  the  scalp  of  their  enemy  a  trophy;  and, 
as  an  i-mblem  of  victory,  was  suspended  the  scalp 
found  near  the  speaker's  chair,  in  the  Parliament 
House  at  York. 


(Xo.  15.) 
EKtCUATIOX  OF  FORT  GEOIIGE. 

This  declaration  is  in  the  teeth  of  several  subse- 
quent  statements  of  Mr.  Baines.  in  the  cc-isrse  of  his 
narrative;  and  it  is  well  known  that  thJImeX 


APPENDIX. 


xtU 


cans  did  not  abandon  Fort  George  until  sometime 
after  general  WUkinson  set  out  on  his  famous  ex- 
pedition  against  Montreal.  The  place  was  finally 
abandoned  on  the  loth  of  December,  1813,  by  gen- 
eral  M'Clure,  of  the  New  York  Militia,  to  whom 
it  had  been  committed;  and  at  whose  departure, 
Newark,  a  village  adjacent  was  nearly  all  consign, 
ed  to  flames. 

(iVo.  16.) 

BATTLE  OF  STOJVEY  CREEK. 

Of  all  the  accounts  publislLcd  of  the  battle  of  Sto- 
ney  Creek,  no  two  agree;  but  of  all  we  have  seen, 
this  is  the  most  laconic,  and  the  most  arrogant  on 
the  British  side.  TJiat  general  Vincent,  in  making 
a  night  attack,  did  for  a  time  produce  great  con- 
fusion in  the  American  camp  is  true;  and  that  the 
strange  incidents  of  the  scene  put  the  American 
generals,  with  other  officers,  and  troops,  into  the 
possession  of  the  enemy  cannot  be  denied;  but  it  is 
not  true  Uiat  the  Americans  were  di  jven  from  their 
camp.  A  force  of  five  hundred  was  counted  and  at 
day  ligrt  reported  by  captain  Francis  D.  Cummins, 
then  adjutant  of  the  161h  U.  S.  Infantry,  to  Col. 
Milton  the  senior  officer  present.  This  force  had 
occupied  the  field  without  intermission  the  whole 
night.  And  in  addition  to  the  possession  of  the  field, 
the  Americans  retained  one  hundred  and  fifty-four 
prisoners.  About  eight  o'clock,  A.  M.  the  enemy 
sent  mlo  the  American  lines  a  flag  of  truce,  re- 
^i^tcvi^tisjj^  P^i-iiii55i^ji  \t\}  ijui'y  tiicir  ucuu^  and  asking 
information  of  general  Vincent,  who  was  supposed 


xiv 


APPESfDlX. 


to  bave  been  killed  or  captured.  His  horse  was 
found  killed;  and  Col.  Milton  had  the  good  fortune 
to  capture  his  saddle,  housing,  &c.  It  appeared  in 
the  end,  that  the  British  general  had  been  in  as 
great  a  dilemma  as  his  opposing  gencralsj  except 
that  he  was  not  finally  held  a  prisoner.  He  lost 
his  horse,  sword,  saddle,  housing  and  chapcau-de- 
bras,-  and  was  found  himself  in  an  insensible  state, 
lying  on  the  ground,  in  the  woods,  a  short  distance 
u-oin  tlie  American  camp. 

(No.  17.) 

REPULSE  OF  THE  EJ^EMY  AT  FORT  MEWS 

In  detailing  the  events  of  this  day,  the  historian 
has  entirely  omitted  to  notice  the  very  spirited  sal- 
lies  from  fort  xMei.?s,  upon  the  Indian  and  British 
batteries  on  the  south-west  side  of  the  river,  simul- 
tapeously  vcith  the  attack  on  the  north-west  side. 
Detachments  of  the  regular  infantry,  volunteers 
and  militia,  in  all  about  three  hundred  and  fifty, 
conducted  by  lieutenant  colonel  Miller,  rushed  up- 
on  and  destroyed   the   enemy's   works,,  captured 
several   officers,  made  fifty  prisoners,   and  drove 
from  the  field  two  hundred  regulars,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  militia,  and  four  or  five  hundred  Indi- 
ans.      This  was  a  chequered   day   in  its   events,- 
the  loss  of  the  gallant  Kcntuckiai.s  bring  no  less 
deplorable,  than  the  success  of  lieutenant  colonel 
Miller  and  his  comrades  was  brilliant.     The  result 
was  decidedly  in  favour  of  the  American  cause;  and 
general  Proctor  being  of  that  conviction,  precipi- 
tately quit  his  ground,  and  sought  safety  at  Sand- 


V.'l 


APPENDIX. 
(No.  18.) 


XV 


.-^>i»M.-i'^'>--  k  ■^:,^  ,.iA--i-.....jfa*-n  ' 


Atf  OL  BATTLE  OJST  ERIE. 

This  account  is  in  all  respects  so  fair,  that  we 
shall  not  take  up  one  moment  to  insert  a  great  ma- 
ny small  omissions,  but  to  do  homage  to  the  manly 
spirit  and  candour  of  captain  Barclay,  to  which  we 
presume  the  historian  is  indebted  for  his  candid 
representation.     And  here  we  miglit  observe,  that 
many,  if  not  most  of  the  errors,  bordering  on  false- 
hood, to  be  found  in  the  British  history,  are  due  to 
the  notorious  misrepresentations  and  arrogance  of 
British  officers  in  foreign  service.      From  Bar- 
clay's honest  story  there  was  no  room  for  eqnivo- 
cation,-  and  hence  the  round  admission  that  t^the  vic- 
tory was  decisive."    In  th«  note  appended    by  tho 
author,  is  a  covert  attempt  to  lessen  the  glory  ac- 
quired by  the  American  arms,  by  representing  the 
squadron  of  commodore  Perry  greatly  superior  in 
strength.     The  following  table  will  shew  the  truth 
in  this  respect;  the  swivels  on  both  sides  enumer- 
ated as  guns: — 

British. 

Detroit,     -    -    - 
Queen  Ciiariotte,    - 
Lady  Prevost,     - 
Hunter,  -     -     -     ." 
Little  Belt,      -     - 
Chijjpeway,       -     . 


American. 

Niagara,  - 
Lawrence,  - 
Ariel,  -     - 
Caledonia,  - 
Scorpion, 
Somers, 
Tigress,   - 
Porrnpine, 
Trippe, 


Guns. 

20 

20 

4 

S 

2 

4 

1 

1 

1 

56 


mer- 

vl 

Ba 

Guns. 

■1 

22 

hI 

18 

Hn 

14     ' 

Bj 

10 

S 

■■ 

3 

I^^m7£^^B 

— 

1^9 

•♦■A- 

gf^M 

xvi 


APPENDIX. 


The  killed  on  board  the  American  squadron  were 
sr,  wounded  96,  total  1S3. 

The  killed  on  board  the  British  squadron  were 
41.  wounded  94.  total  135.  After  the  action  the 
prisoners  exceeded  in  numbers  their  captors.  On 
what  pretence  then  ran  it  be  represented  that  the 
advantage  was  on  the  side  of  the  Americans?  The 
result  proved  that  commodore  Perry,  with  inferior 
numbers  in  men  and  guns,  had  the  address,  cour- 
age,  and  seamanship,  to  beat  his  antagonist, 

(No.  19.) 

_  ,    SJITTLE  OF  THE  TH.  LUES. 

The  csti.nate  of  the  British  troops  is  notorious- 
ty  too  small.      General  Harrison  killed  twelve, 
wounded  twenty-two,  and  captured  on  the  field  six 
hundred  and  one  regularsj  and  the  author  himself 
a  htUc  subsequently  admits  that  general  Proctor  col- 
Jccted  at  Ancaster,  of  the  "shattered  remains  of  hU 
army,"  about  two  hundred  raeu.    So  that  it  does  pp. 
pear  from  indubitable  authority,  that  the  British 
force  at  the  Moravian  vUlagewas.at  least  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-four  regulars.      The  Indian 
forces  are  more  fairly  recorded^  but  we  do  not  give 
our  faith  in  any  degree  to  the  story  of  the  personal 
rencontre  of  colonel  Johnson  with  Tecumseh.  That 
the  colonel  was  in  the  hottest  of  the  fire,  distin- 
gu.shcd  by  his  gallantry  and  prowess,  is  known- 
but  so  far  as  our  information  extends  he  has  never 
countenanced  tlie  romance  of  the  story.     On  what 
authority  it  is  stated,  tliat  the  «'Americans  had  a 
kind  of  ferocious  pleasure  in  contemplating  the  con- 


APPENDIX. 


xvii 


tour  of  tlie  features"  of  Tecumsch  we  know  not.    It 
is  without  any  hesitation  we  pronounce  the  reflec- 
tion  false.      Had  such    a  pleasure   animated   the 
hearts  of  the  brave  and   generous   Kcntuckians, 
they  did  not  want  occasion  to  indulge  it  to  satiety 
by  retaliating  the  injuries  of  their  countrymen  up- 
on the  very  pe     etrators  of  their  wrongs,  now  in 
their  power,  auU  of  whom  they  could  but  cherish 
contempt  and  indignation.     Other  sentiments  wer** 
entertained  towards   Tecumseh.     True  he  was  a 
savage  and  relentless  enemy;  but  he  was  brave, 
and  for  his  bravery  respected  by  the  Kentuckians. 
If,  indeed,  they  had  been  able  to  designate  the  per- 
son of  Tecumseh  among  the  fallen,  they  would  have 
contemplated  his  feature  and  form  with  the  same 
curiosity  that  every  generous  man,  especially  a  sol- 
dier, would  contemplate  the  scull  of  Hannibal,  Cje- 
sar,or  Alexander;  the  person  of  Wellington,  or  the 
face  of  the  great  prisoner  at  St.  Helena.     It  was 
believed,  at  the  termination  of  the  battle,  that  the 
great  Shawanee  warrior  had  fallen;   and  a   fine 
corpse,  with  a  noble  front,  was  supposed  to  be  his 
remains;  but  f  o  one  offered  it,  or  any  other  on  the 
ground,  any  indignity.    Such  were  not  the  deeds  of 
the  Kentuckians.      Onr  feelings  in  repelling  these 
insinuations  are  awakened  a  little  in  retaliation; 
and  therefore  we  shall  not  allow  to  general  Proc- 
tor, or  his  fame,  the  benefit  of  the  apology  offer- 
ed for  him  by  the  historian.    *' General  Proctor  per- 
ceiving that  all  was  lost,  ordered  his  troops  to  dis- 

general  Proctor,  the  cold-hearted  murderer  of  pris- 
b2 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


Uii  pi  2.8 

lit 


2.2 
2.0 

1.8 


U    IIIIII.6 


111 


<^ 


VI.  .^. 


'¥ 


^? 


# 


^jV 


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^»'.^  '^M 


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fliotographic 

Sdences 

Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(776)  873-4503 


\ 


f\ 


A 


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6^ 


4^^ 


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5i' 


1°  ./mp 


7a 


XVlll 


APPENDIX. 


oners,  remain  to  witness  the  result  of  a  battle  on 
equd  torms!  He  fled  at  the  moment  of  the  iirst 
charge  upon  the  British  regulars,  without  one  a^ 
tempt  to  succour  or  s^port  them  by  iiis  reserve  of 
cavalry,  which  he  carried  off  with  him  for  his  bet- 
ter  protection  in  the  event  of  a  pursuit  He  did 
not  wait  the  result  of  the  contest  with  thjB  Indians, 
whose  bravery  in  their  own  defence  merited  a  beti 
ter  protection  from  him  whose  fortunes  they  had  fol- 
lowed. If  the  dastardly  hero  of  the  Baisin  had  fall- 
en  under  the  inspection  of  the  conquerors,  the  mem- 
ory of  his  cruelties  and  barbarities  might  justly 
have  excited  their  execration;  but  even  his  loath- 
some carcass  could  not  have  provoked  a  brave  Kon- 
tuckian  to  fbrgetwhatwas  dii^  toMdsj 


i 


(No.  20.) 

The  expedition  of  colonel  Murray,  deemed  of  suf- 
ficient importance  to  be  inserted  by  the  historian, 
was  set  off  by  several  embellishments  which  seem 
to  have  been  forgotten;  and  this  is  somewhat  unac- 
countable too>  as  the  author  has^certMbd  in  the  most 
decided  terms,  that  <^hi8  important  service  was  per- 
formed with  a  degree  of  promptitude  and  regulari- 
ty highly  honourable  to  the  officers*?'  Now,  until 
this  unqualified  testimony  of  Mr.  Baines,  we  had 
been  accustomed  to  lodL  upon  this  excurtuon  of  co- 
lonel Murray  as  quite  equal  to  some  of  the  most 
celebrated  achievements  of  admiral  Cockburn  in 
the  C  hesapeake.  At  Plattsburgh,  at  the  time  whol- 
ly defenceless^  there  was  a  most  wanton,  destruc- 


APPEI>^OIX.  xjUc 

tion  yf  private ^operty.    Tables>  bureaux*  clocks^ 
defiikS}  &c.  were  cut  and  broken  into  piepest^  .and  th|e| 
fragments  thrown  over  the  apartment^  they:  bad  fur- 
nished*   B^oksy  private  papers^  s^d  leathers  dis- 
cMir§ed  ;f|?<Mn  beds  ripped  open,  were   soatterc^d 
tNpupb  %k9  lilre^ts.    At  Point*au-Hocbfr  where  the 
p^ty  slopped  a  f^Yf  bimrs,  the  wife  of  f  respectft^ 
]>iei)itifen9  pf  the  name  of  WilUam^n  J9^s^  assaulted 
by  ithr^  ru^anS)  w^th  direct  menJices  of  her  chas- 
titytt  and  esciapied  disgrace  alone  j^y  tbi9  heroic  coiir 
dii^t  of  her  husbandy  who,  with  her  aidy  beat  o^ 
Imp*,  and  actually  captMred  apd  seQUP€$d  one  of  the 
party.    At  @wa»t0n  nothing  ferociqu$  or  barbarous 
was  omitted*    By  the  depositionsj;  of  several  pcr- 
sf^ns  it  was  proved,  beyond  a  question^  that  a  young 
Jady»  not  exce^fUng  the  age  of  fifteen,  was  seized 
by  a  number  of  sold iers,  and  by  force  carried  into 
a  room.    Having  shut  out  all  chance  of  rescue,  they 
doomed  her  to  the  most  diabolical]  violence,  regard- 
tttg  nether  her  entreaties  nor  screams.    After  tliis 
well  established  case,  it  would  be  (creeping  indeed, 
to  recount,  the  mean  and  pilfering  depredations 
that  were  pmctised  in  every  part  of  the  village. 
These  were  the  "important  services  peribrjned  with 
a  degree  of  promptitude,  and  reg^Uarity  highly  hon- 
.Qturablc  ta  the  aiiQtr%  d|reQting  the  expedition!" 

(No.  21.) 

HAMPTON'S  ^PEDITIO^  OJV  T«E   CHATKAUQAY. 

i^lth  this,  account  the  historian  commences  a  se- 

^s  of  rodomontade,  worthy  of  Munchausen .    In 

the  first  place,  the  united  foroes  yni^r  !W^jilkJnson 


J 


atid  Jiauiiptoii  are  greauy  over-raDeu^  inose  unucr 


XX. 


APPENDIX, 


the  former  being  about  six  thousand  five  hundred, 
whil^   those  under  the  latter  amounted  to  throe 
thousand  five  hundred  effective  men.    With  theses 
had  the  commanders  been  good  and  true,  Montreal 
ought  easily  tp  have  been  captured.    This  dedfra- 
tion  is  hazarded  without  any  regard  to  the  opiigon 
of  the  historian,  that  the  "troops  were  formyablt^ 
only  in  numbers,  and  possessed  no  qualities  which 
could  enable  them  to  stand  the  shock  of  armies  un-, 
der  British  discipline."    The  troops  under  Wilkin^ 
son  had  seen  a  good  deal  of  service  in  the  campaign, 
having  captured  York,  forts  George  and  Erie,  and 
defended  Sackett's  Harbour;  and  the  historian,  re- 
lating the' capture  of  fort  George,  spoke  of  them 
as  follows:— "But  the  numerical  superiority  of  the 
assailants,  combined  with  that  coolness  and  intre^ 
pidity  which  experience  imparts,  and  of  which  the 
Americans  had  already  begun  to  sliew  several  ex- 
amples, overcome  all  opposition."    On  tlmt  occa- 
sion it  appears  they  did  possess  some  ^•qualities 
which  could  enable  tbem  to  stand  the  shock  of  ar- 
mies under  British  discipline."    A  .,  if  allowed 
to  anticipate  the  story,  for  an  exatople  of  their 
qualities,  we  would  remind  Mr.  Baines  that  sixteen 
hundred  of  these  very  men,  under  general  M«Comb, 
co*operating  with  commodore  M^Donough's  squads 
ron,  and  supported  by  two  brigades  of  militia,  suc- 
cessfully defended  Plattsburgh,  in  1814,  against  the 
British  squadron  and  twelve  thousand  troops  un- 
der "British  discipline,"  headed  by  sir  George  Pre- 
vost  in  person,  accompanied  by  adjutant  general 
Baines,  the  brother  o^'the  historian. 


AM>END1X;% 


im 


The  sequel  of  the  narrative^  enibracin|f  the  moTe- 
ments  of  general  Hampton  on  the  Chateaugtijry 
which  were  intended  only  as  a  division  in  favour  of 
Wilkinson  on  the  St.  Lawrence^  until  his  descent 
should  enable  him  to  come  within  communication 
with  Hampton's  division,  is  monstrously  vain-glo- 
rious; insomuch  that  it  could  not  procure  the  faith 
of  a  single  reader  out  of  the  British  dominionSf  and 
we  doubt  much  whether  it  would  command  that  of 
John  Bull  himself.  The  forces  under  ^neral 
Hampton,  which  have  just  been  estimated  from  eight 
to  ten  thousand^  and  now  at  seven  thousand  infan- 
try and  two  hundred  cavalry,  &c.  are  Here  repre- 
sented as  defeated  by  a  BritiiSh  force  not  exceeding 
three  hundred!  The  whole  of  thiJi  story  is  just  as 
true  as  thut  part  of  it  which  makes  colonel  M<Car- 
ty  command  the  Americans^  on  the  south-east  side 
of  the  river.  The  detachment  on  that  service  was 
commanded  by  colonel  Furdy,  there  being  no  such 
officer  as  colonel  M'Carty  present.  *    ^v 

This  affair  must  be  set  right.  The  division  un- 
der geners^mampton,  l^rde  thousand  five  hundred 
effectives,  moved  from  Chateaugay  on  the  21st  of 
October,  1813,  and  arrived  next  day  at  Sears. 
Between  this  position  and  the  lines  of  the  enemy, 
lay  a  heavy  forest,  much  obstructed  by  fallen  trees 
and  other  impediments,  and  defended  by  five  hun- 
dred troops.  In  order  to  ascertain  the  whole  force 
of  the  enemy  posted  on  this  route,  for  the  defence 
of  Montreal,  general  Hampton  opposed  to  the  front 
of  tl»e  forest  a  battalion  of  two  liundred  and  twen- 
ty-five men,  who  occasionally  skirmis]tit?4  wWi  the 


xiH 


APPENDIX. 


enemy  In  his  covering;  while  colonel  Purd/,  wjith 
hfe>eglmcnt,  proceeded  down  the  south-east  side 
6f  the  river  to  examine  the  position  of  the  enemy 
In  the  rear  of  the  forest,  with  instructions,  if  cir- 
Cilmstances  favoured,  to  cross  tlie  river  and  attack^ 
oh  the  flank  and  in  the  rear,  the  forces  posted  in 
the  wood.  The  night  heingdark,  and  the  guide  los- 
mg  his  way,  colonel  Purdy  did  not  accomplish  the 
object  of  his  destination.    At  three  o'clock  P.  M. 
on  the  26th,  while  the  battalion  in  front  was  wait- 
ing  the  attack  of  colonel  Purdy  in  the  rear,  the 
enemy  came  out  and  made  an  attack  on  it.    A 
smart  engagement  ensued;   but  the  enemy  being 
charged,  were  entirely  dispersed,  and  the  forest 
cleared.    The  American  loss  here  was  one  killed 
and  four  wounded.      Colonel   Purdy's  command 
having  had  a  good  deal  of  bush  fighting,  lost,  in  the 
whole,  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  about  thirt^ 
men.    The  results  of  these  experiments  ascertain? 
ed  to  general  Hampton  the  position  ok  the  enemy 
behind  the  woods;  but  the  crisis  of  the  campaign 
having  not  arrived,  he  was  not  authorized  to  attack 
further  the  enemy  in  his  position.    This  service  had 
been  reserved  for  the  united  forces  of  Wilkinson 
and  Hampton,  and  from  the  plan  of  the  War  De- 
partment, the  latter  was  not  to  depart  on  his  own 
responsibility.     General  Hampton  remained  unmo- 
lested in  the  neighbourhood  for  several  days,  with- 
out hearing  any  thing  of  general  Wilkinson,  and 
then,  on  the  recommendation  of  a  council  of  his 
officers,  returned  within  the  territory  of  the  United 
States.    This  is  the  mighty  affair  which  has  beei^ 


APPENDIX. 


xxiii 


majfnified  into  a  defeat  of  seven  to  eight  thousand 
Americans  by  three  hundred  British  regulars  and 
Canada  militia. 


i;«;*^i'SV^v 


Sn'  rf«,^ 


(No.  22.) 


SBSCRYT  OF  THE  ST.  LAWREjYCE, 

In  the  relation  of  general  Wilkinson's  descent  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  the  historian  has  not  been  more 
accurate  than  in  his  account  of  general  Hampton's 
campaign.  In  passing  Presrot,  says  he,  on  the  au- 
thority  of  sir  George  Prevost,  "the  American  ar- 
mada was  doomed  to  sustain  a  heavy  -ind  destruc- 
tive cannonade."  On  arriving  near  the  place,  gen- 
eral Wilkinson  seems  to  have  been  sagacious 
enough  to  elude  the  enemy  completely.  He  sent 
forward  some  old  boats,  on  which,  it  being  dark, 
the  garrison  exhausted  their  long  shot,  and  after- 
wai'ds  the  flotilla  passed  without  harm,  excepting 
from  one  shot,  whiph  killed  two  and  wounded  three 
men,  arriving  in  good  order  next  morning  at  Ham- 
ilton,  twenty  miles  below  Prescot.  Here  the  cav- 
alry, which  had  been  marched  previously  on  the 
American  side,  was  crossed  pv^r  and  landed  near 
Williamsbcrgon  the  enemy's  side.  At  the  same  time, 
and  not  before,  general  Boyd,  with  a  brigade  of 
(ifteen  hundred  men,  was  landed  to  cover  the  boats 
in  their  pr.8sage  tlirough  the  rapids.  These  par- 
ticulars are  stated  to  apprize  the  reader  of  the 
wonderful  artillery  at  Prescot,  which  the  historian 
asserts  <*briskly  assailed,  at  the  distance ,'*  mind ^  ^^of 
twenty  mileSf  the  army  on  the  shore  under  the  com- 
mand of  biigadier  general  Boyd,  with  shot  and 
shells." 


MXk¥ 


APPBNBIX.^^ 


r  ■'. 


^ifewr  Willmmgterg  general  B<^d  kad  a  rencon- 
tre>>  in  which,  by  the  fall  of  Heutenattt  8niHh»  tlie 
enemy  got  possession  of  one  gan»  and  afterlrarda 
boasted  a  splendid  victory.  From  the  account  on 
both  sides,  it  may  fairly  be  supposed  that  neither 
party  gained  much  on  the  field.  Many  lives  were 
lost,  and  many  valuable  officers  woundedf  of  t^e 
Americans,  general  Ckivington  mortally.  Between 
the  notorious  misrepresentations  of  colonel  Morri- 
son, who  commanded  the  enemy,  and  the  windy  re* 
port  of  general  Wilkinson^  very  great  uncertainty 
has  ever  hu)ig  on  the  events  of  the  11th  of  Novem- 
ber, iai5!. 

The  historian  very  ignorantly,  or  disingenuously, 
ascribes  to  the  disasters  of  the  day  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  expedition  against  Montreal.  The 
American  army  was  not  at  all  depressed  by  the  re  > 
suit  of  the  battle  of  Williamsbcrg.  Nor  did  it  return 
to  the  territories  df  the  United  Spates  from  any  con- 
sciousness of  defeat!  but  on  the  contrary,  the  flotil- 
la proceeded,  on  the  next  day,  through  the  rapids, 
while  the  cavalry,  with  the  ordnance,  marched 
along  the  Canada  shore,  without  further  molesta- 
tion by  the  enemy.  The  whole  force  re-united  at 
Barnharfs^  near  Cornwall,  whei^  general  Brown 
had  arrived  the  day  before,  having  successMly  Com- 
batted  all  the  obstructions  of  his  march  by  the  en# 
my.  The  result,  then,  of  the  battle  of  Williams- 
berg  was  entirely  favouraUe  to  the  destination  of 
the  American  artaiy.  It  was  at  Bamhart's  that 
general  Wilkinson  took  upon  himself  to  decide  that 
general  Hampton  had  declined  a  junction  with  him. 


•^.^i...^^iiL.J-.M     /.djriti 


""^ 


APPENDIX. 

and  on  that  pretext,  to  violate  what  he  had  before 
admitted  to  be  the  orders  of  the  government^  and 
the  most  solemn  obligations  of  duty,  «to  preci|)itate 
his  descent  of  the  St.  Lawrence  by  every  practica- 
ble means."  He  having  remained  on  the  Canada 
shore  until  the  1 3th,  without  seeing  or  hearing  of  an 
enemy  in  his  neighbourhood,  gave  up  the  service 
for  which  he  had  been  especially  selected,  and  with 
it  the  hopes  of  the  country,  the  expectations  of  the 
government,  his  own  military  reputation,  and  the 
honour  of  the  army;  and,  interposing  the  responsi- 
bility of  a  council  of  officers  to  exculpate  himself, 
malignantly  and  fretfully  inculpated  general  Hamp- 
ton, who,  to  say  the  most  against  him,  was  not 
more  guilty  than  Wilkinson.  Had  Wilkinson  ad- 
hered to  his  instuctions,  and  steadily  pressed  his 
way  to  Montreal,  it  was  more  than  Hampton  dared 
to  absent  his  army  when  the  crisis  had  arrived; 
and  there  is  no  one  capable  jof  forming  a  correct 
opinion,  who  will  not  see,  on  inspection  of  the  map, 
that  to  ensure  the  greatest  facility  to  the  junction 
of  the  two  armies,  Wilkinson,  by  descending  the 
St.  Lawrence,  and  menacing  the  forces  of  the  ene- 
my opposed  to  Hampton  on  the  20th  of  October, 
would  have  brought  himself  into  easy  communication 
with  the  expected  reinforcement,  and  the  promised 
supplies.  His  determination  to  the  contrary,  how- 
ever, subjected  himself  and  Hampton  to  this  sarcasm 
of  the  historian:^— "It  was  strongly  surmised  in  the 
United  States  that  the  battles  of  Chateaugay  and 
Wiliiamsberg  had  abated  their  military  ardour* 
C 


zzvi 


APPENDIX. 


and  that  it)  reality  their  disgensions  might  be  traced 
to  this  cause." 

On  the  whole,  we  have  no  disposition  to  attempt 
to  defend  the  conduct  of  general  Williinson  in  the 
closing  scene  of  the  expedition;  believing,  as  we  do, 
that  no  military  service  ever  furnished,  with  im^ 
V^nxty,  a  parallel  in  neglect  of  duty  and  disobcdi- 
ence  of  orders;  but  wo  would  desire  to  rescue  tlie 
faithful  troops  that  followed  him  from  the  odium  of 
defeat,  and  the  taunts  of  the  late  enemy,  and  there- 
fore, all  we  have  written  on  this  particular  head  is 
intended  for  their  beneat. 

(No.  23.) 

VOJ^rFI^OS^TJOY  OP  J^EWARK,  Uc. 

The  historian  proceeds  to  the   account  of  the 
burning  of  Newark  by  general  M*Clure;  and  the 
events  on  the  Niagara,  which  he  has  been  pleased 
to  consider  in  the  nature  of  retaliation.     We  should 
permit  his  narrative  to  pass  without  a  remark,  but 
for  the  imputation  to  the  Americans,  «of  a  system 
of  plunder  organized"  by  them  "against  the  loyal 
inhabitants  of  that  district."    This  we  have  quoted 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  contradiction.     The  gov- 
ernment  and  people  heard  of  the  conflagration  of 
Newark  with  the  most  painful  sensations,  and,  with- 
out  explanation,  condemned  it.     After  the  explana- 
tions  between  the  commanding  officer  and  the  se- 
cretary  of  war,  the  moral  character  of  the  transac 
tion  received  little  apology  in  the  feelings  and  sen- 
timents  of  the  American  people.     We,  ourselves, 
have  no  hesitation  in  denouncing  the  act  unneces- 


APPENDIX. 


# 


xxrii 


sary,  so  far  as  the  good  of  the  service  was  concern- 
ed,  and  therefore,  in  its  character,  wanton  and  van- 
dalic.  But  wanton  and  barbarous  as  it  may  have 
been,  its  measure  was  far  transcended  by  the  ene- 
my, in  laying^  waste  the  whole  country  bordering 
x)n  the  Niagara,  the  inhabitants  of  which,  being  at 
the  time,  retired  from  military  occupations.  If  any 
thing  can  be  said  in  extenuation  of  the  conduct  of 
tlift  enemy,  there  would  not  be  wanting  enough  to 
justify  general  M'Clure  for  the  destruction  of  New- 
ark, and  all  the  settlements  round  about  itj  for  ha 
was  actually  in  the  military  occupation  of  fort 
George,  the  security  of  which  was  not  a  little  to  b« 
affected  by  the  proximity  of  the  town.  We  are  en- 
tirely at  a  loss  to  understand  how  the  historian 
could  emblazon  the  conduct  of  general  Riall  and 
colonel  Murray  in  the  terms  he  has  employed,  and 
afterwards  denounce  tlie  service  in  which  they  had 
been  engaged  as  <«abhorrent  to  every  civilized  mind, 
and  fit  only  for  the  savage  auxiliaries  of  tlie  two 
exasperated  belligerents."  Wanton  and  barbarous 
as  he  may  have  deemed  the  conduct  of  general 
M'Clure,  it  did  not,  in  any  degree,  abate  the  hor- 
rid immorality  of  the  conduct  of  the  British  offi- 
cers. 

In  this  narrative,  one  allegation  occurs  which  we 
could  wish  had  no  foundation  in  truth.  The  histo- 
rian speaks  of  the  ^^auxiliaries  of  the  two  exaspe- 
rated belligerents."  We  regret  exceedingly  that 
government,  or  its  agents,  ever  tarnished  the  ser- 
vice of  the  country  by  receiving  into  the  army  the 
auxiliaries  here  mentioned.    It  is  not  unknown  to 


/ 


XZViU 


APP£NDim 


iw,  that  the  government  declined,  in  tlio  beginninr 
of  tha  war,  the  proffered  services  of  the  Indians- 
nor  18  it  unknown  to  us  that  the  enemy  had  taken' 
ailvantage  of  their  bloody  propensities,  and  array, 
ed  them  against  us;  and  that  it  was  not  until  som^ 
time  m  the  campaign  of  1813,  that  a  few  of  them 
were  received  into  the  American  service,  with  such^ 
restraints  as  forbid  the  cruel  practices  to  which. 
in  war,  they  are  accustomed.  Nevertheless,  we  de- 
ny the  policy,  or  moral  propriety  of  associatinir 
savages  with  the  troops  of  a  Christian  people;  and 
our  experience  proves  that  they  cannot  be  used  with 
profit,  unless  they  be  permitted  to  wage  war  in  their 
own  stylo.     Such  a  permission,  an  American  offi- 
cer or  the  American  government  can  never  grant, 
and  retain  the  countenance  and  support  of  the  Amer- 
ican people.   We  need  them  not  in  any  emergency. 
^^rry  and  Harrison  defeated  them  and  their  em- 
ployer*; and  all  the  benefits  derived  from  their  ser- 
vices  on  the  Niagara  did  n«^  compensate  the  impu- 
tation, that  our  army  was  sustained  hy  such  aux- 
iliaries.    >  #^'^ 


-»-;( 


-^  (No.  24.)  *^ 

CAPTURE  OF  THE  CffESAPE.1KE,  Ssfc 

The  slender  grounds,  on  which  the  historian 
claims  ascendency  for  the  British  navy,  are,  of 
themselves,  the  highest  compliment  to  that  of  ilm 
Americans.  Of  the  incidents  of  the  naval  campaign 
of  1813,  he  has  here  enumerated  four;  the  Hornet 
and  Peacock,  Chesapeake  and  Shannon,  Wasp  and 
Pelican,   and    Entei^irize   and  Boxer.      A   short 


APPENDIX. 


XXIX 


^# 


review  of  these  will  show  how  well  Uie  historian  was 
authorized  to  say  to  the  world,  that  **ihe  aicenden- 
cy  inclinedf  unquestionably,  to  thai  power  which  had 
<o  long  reigned  the  unrivalUd  mistrets  of  the  wavei,** 
meaning  the  navy  of  Great  Britain. 

Tlie  Hornet  carries  eighteen  carronades;  and  the 
Peacock,  of  equal  tonnage,  had  on  board,  at  the  time 
of  her  capture,  sixteen  four-and-twenty  pound  car- 
ronades,two  long  nines,  one  twelve  pound  carronade, 
one  six  pounder,  and  two  swivels;  in  all,  twenty-two. 
The  difference  in  men  was  more  in  favour  of  the 
Peacock  than  that  of  gunsj  but,  notwithstanding, 
the  Peacock  was  torn  to  pieces  in  fifteen  minute9, 
and  sunk  before  all  her  crew  could  be  removed. 
The  Hornet  was  somewhat  injured  in  her  rigging, 
but  received  little  r-  no  damage  in  her  hull. 

The  superiority  of  the  Americans,  over  their  ene- 
mies, was  not  greater  in  professional  than  in  moral 
qualities.     Captain  Pcake,  the  command>*>r  of  the 
Peacock,  obliged  three  imp;*essed  American  sailors, 
notwithstanding  their  expostulations  and  entreaties 
to  be  excused,  to  fight  against  their  country  and 
countrymen.    The  crew  of  the  Hornet,  the  day  af- 
ter the  battle,  made  up  a  subscription,  and  supplied 
their  prisoners  each  with*  a  suit  of  comfortable 
clothing,  of  which  they  were  deprived  by  the  sud- 
den destruction  and  sinking  of  their  vessel.    This 
god-like  occurrence  sets  out  too  brilliantly  the  claims 
of  the  generous  victors,  to  be  recorded  by  the  Bri- 
tish historian;  but  is  is  deemed,  by  us,  of  sufficient 
consideration  to  be  commemorated  in  this  note.. 
X2 


n 


XXX 


Appp.vnix. 


Mop©  we  sbairtiWt  add  on  this  affair,  seeing  it  has 
been  advuitted  in  iiave  terminated  deddedhj  in  favour 
of  the  Uiiltsd  States.  >-a#^ 

Novr  oomes  the  case  of  the  Chesapealce  and 
Shannon,  the  result  of  whirh,  ».vlien  compared  with 
that  of  the  rencontre  of  the  Kornct  and  Pcacork, 
was  not  of  a  decisive  cliaracter;  but  the  historia-i 
lias  extolled  it  with  all  his  powers,  as  an  event  prov- 
ing that  the  sun  of  the  British  navy  had  again  ris- 
en to  illiiWiine  the  world.  In  stating  the  case,  he 
has  said  several  handsomo  things  of  captain  Law- 
i*ence,  and  presented,  in  his  f^cncral  picture,  many 
ornamental  shades.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  British 
story,  in  which  are  blended  general  facts,  with  a 
groat  deal  of  romance.  In  speaking  of  the  result, 
we  do  not  intend  to  be  understood  to  deii^,  that  the 
Chesapeake  was  capturedj  but  wo  deny  thai,  under 
all  the  cii*ciimgtances,  the  British  nation  have  any 
just  reason  to  set  up  her  capture  as  a  decided  proof 
of  their  superiority.  On  the  contrary,  so  long  as 
captain  Lawrence  was  able  to  direct  the  battle,  he 
had  the  advantage;  and  it  is  not  «t  all  improbable, 
if  the  two  -^hips  had  not  fallen  foul  on  a  on  the 
other,  and  afforded  captal.i  Broke  the  opportunity 
of  boai'ding,  the  Shannon  would  have  become  tha 
prir^.e.  This  hypothesis  is  founded  on  the  decla- 
ration of  captain  Lawrence  himself;  and  no  one 
coDjif'  be  better  able  to  form  a  correct  opinion. 
He  had  remained  on  the  deck  for  sometime  after 

raT»i*vincif>    f.Kp>    CtitAOanosiL'A  ivmaf    alt%r»t%vfHmr    :^a^    a« 

tion,  witnessed  all  iJie  incidents  which  had  occurred 
on  citiier  side,  and  carried  with  him  'a  the  sur- 


Al'PENDIX.i 


XXXI 


geon^s  department  a  cooi  and  unshaken  spirit^  fry- 
ing iMNittive  orders  te  the  ofHcers  about  him  to  preBS 
the  fight  with  continued  energy.     On  hearing  of 
the  succesy  of  tlie  enemy,  he  replied  to  the  officer 
who  bore  the  intelligence,  "then,  sir,  you  have  not 
done  your   duty,   for  the   Shannon  was  whipped 
when  I  left  the  deck."    This  was  not  the  assertion 
of  an  enthusiast.     It  was  a  sober  fact.    The  Shan- 
non  was  cut  up  in  her  hull,  and  was  nearly  in  a 
sinking  state  at  the  moment  when  the  fall  of  Law- 
rence took  from  the  Chesapeake  a  directing  spirit 
and  judgment.    The  want  of  a  mind  to  order  and 
command,  produced  first  unsteadiness,  and  then 
confusion  and  insubordination  throughout  the  ship. 
Ludlow,  the  on!y  officer  who  could,  in  any  degree, 
have  supplied  the  loss  of  the  commander,  fell  early 
in  the  action  J  and  the  victory  was  due  only  to  the 
wnfortunatc  accidents  whicli  bcfel  the  Chesapeake, 
and  not  to  any  superiority  of  conduct  or  courage 
on  board  the  Siiannon. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  confessed  by  British  offi- 
cers, that  of  the  ships,  the  Shannon  was  far  the 
most  crippled,  when  they  arrived  together  at  Hali- 
fax; the  xlmericans,  e-ven  in  their  misfortunes,  hav- 
ing given  proofs  of  their  superior  gunnery.  Will 
any  impartial  person,  or  community,  after  this  view 
of  the  affair,  contend  that  the  victory  was,  in  itself, 
so  very  decisive,  as  to  put  down  forever  the  claims 
of  the  United  States?     If  more  were  wanting,  we 

#mii1<1  ditriAi'-arlfl  flin  vonv  ImnnH'anf  fart.  fkA.  inPp.ri- 

i.-trv.s->i  ;^-.T^.-^-5     '»"!-.     - J  jj -      -—7  -- 

orit;  >f  the  Chesapeake,  not  only  in  guns,  but  also 
in  tonnage,  and  the  more  important  fact,  the  green, 
not  to  say  mutinous,  state  of  her  crew. 


r 


xxxU 


APPENDIX. 


\ 


On  this  case,  to  our  minds,   very  indecisive, 
compftred  with  that  of  the  Hornet  and  Peacock, 
principally  reposes  the  historian  for  the  establish- 
ment of  British  superiority.     The  case  of  the  Peli- 
can and  Wasp,  next  stated,  is  confessed  not  to  have 
been  of  a  nature  so  brilliant;  a  large  sloop  of  twen- 
ty-six guns,  with  a  full  complement  of  men,  being 
occupied  nearly  an  hour  in  subduing  her  adversary> 
a  light  sloop  of  eighteen  guns,  and  a  reduced  crew. 
Little  honour  is  claimed  for  this  victory;  yet,  to- 
gether with  the  capture  of  the  Chesapeake,  it  is 
deemed  sufficient  to  preponderate  the  capture  of 
the  Peacock,  and  Boxer.     It  will  be  recollected  that 
this  is  a  question,  not  about  the  value  of  the  prizes, 
but  on  the  superiority  of  the  antagonists,  with  re- 
ference to  their  respective  forces,  and  professional 
prowess.     So  hard  has  the  imrivalled  mistress  of 
the  waves  been  pressed,  by  the  stripling  navy  of 
the  United  States,  that  she  is  forced  to  come  to 
judgment   with   testimony    on   which   she  herself 
scarcely  dares  to  rely,  and  opposed  by  that  which 
she  has  not  tlie  affrontery  to  discredit.     According 
to  the  logic  of  the  historian,  two  decided  victories 
on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  are  preponderated  by 
two  on  the  part  of  the  British,  which  we  have 
shewn  to  be  iiuestionablo.     But  if  the  historian  had 
chosen  to  put  the  case  in  candour,  he  could  have 
found  a  fifth  victory  in  the  naval  events  of  1813, 
which,  if  credited  on  the  right  side,  would  have  so 
decisively  settled  the  issue,  as  to  leave  the  most 
sceptical  without  a  plea;  we  mean  the  great  victory 
of  Perry  on  Lake  Erie,    In  the  order  of  time,,  it 


APPENDIX. 


XXXIU 


was  achieved  after  all  tlvose  abovcmewtioned;  and 
surely,  unless  Mr.  Baincs  be  an  Irishman,  and 
claim  the  privilege  of  his  countrymen,  it  should  * 
have  been  classed  with  the  naval  victories.     In^ 
character,  and  in  its  results,  it  stands  high  in  the 
annals  of  the  two  nations. 

(No.  25.) 
BATTLE  OF  CHIP P AWAY, 

^very  American  citizen  will  read,  with  emotions 
af  pride  and  pleasure,  this  account  of  the  battle  of, 
Chippaway.  We  could  ask  of  a  partipan  no  more- 
than  is  here  granted,  so  far  as  the  result  of  the  con-?, 
test  is  concerned.  It  is  allowed  by  the  author,  that? 
the  steady  bravery  of  general  Scott's  brigade  gave 
an  intimation,  that  the  Americans  had  acquired 
qualities  to  counterpoise  the  prowess  of  the  veteran, 
troops  of  Great  Britain.  This  is  the  apology  for 
the  admission,  that  general  Riall,  being  no  longer 
2S^  to  sustain  the  accumulated  fire  of  the  American 
corps,  accompanied  by  Towson's  artillery,  order- 
ed the  attack  to  be  abandoned,  and  the  troops  to 
retire  behind  their  works  at  Chippaway.  But  the 
historian  has  endeavoured  to  qualify  his  praise,  by 
diminishing  the  British,  and  exaggerating  the 
American  forces  engaged;  fortifying  his  statement 
by  an  appeal  to  the  report  of  the  British  command- 
er. The  truth  is,  the  advantage  of  numbers  was  on 
the  side  of  the  enemy.  Exclusive  of  Canada  militia 
and  Indians,  Gen.  Riall  led  into  the  action,  fifteen 
iiunureu  reguiarsj  wiiiuu  were  ujcs.  aiju  -  i;ji4i!S3Sii.-K 
by  three  battalions  of  general  Scott's  brigade,  and 


XXXIV 


APPENDIX. 


the  Pennsvlvania  and  N.  York  volanteers,  amount- 
ing in  the  whole,  to  about  seventeen  hundred  effec- 
tive men.  The  action  gave  a  good  opportunity  of 
testing  the  qualities  of  the  troops  on  both  side». 
Every  species  of  weapon  was  employed;  the  bayo- 
net most  liberally.  In  every  trial,  the  veterans  of 
Wellington  flinched.  In  the  use  of  fire  arms,  as 
usual,  the  Americans  had  decidedly  the  advantage; 
killing  and  wounding  nearly  one  third  of  the  enemy 
in  less  than  one  hour.  Such  was  the  effect  of  the 
steadiness,  bravery,  and  dexterity  of  the  Americans, 
that  general  Riall  imagined  a  force  of  six  thousand 
opposed  to  him,  wlien  in  fact  he  contended  with  lit- 
tle more  than  one  fourth  of  that  number.  The  fol- 
lowing  returns  of  the  casualities  on  both  sides  may 
be  trusted;  being  taken  respectively  from  the  offi- 
cial reports  of  the  rival  commanders: 

KiUed.  Wounded.  Missing.  Total. 

British,  138  320  55  513 

Americans,        60  S49  19  333 


Difference,         78 


n 


36 


185 


(No.  26.) 

BATTLE  OF  BEIDGEWATER. 
This  battle,  more  generally  called  in  the  United 
States,  the  battle  of  Niagara,  has  been  considered 
on  all  hands,  the  most  sanguinary  field  engage- 
ment that  has  ever  taken  place  in  America;  in 
which  the  combatants  contended  for  victory  by  long 
and  various  exertions.  Taking  togetlicr  the  offi- 
cial reports  of  both  the  generals  in  command,  al- 


APPENDIX. 


XXXV 


though  very  contradictory  in  many  particulars,  it 
would  seem,  that  the  two  armies  were,  numerically 
about  equal;  each  being  about  three  thousand  strong; 
and  that  the  aggregate  loss  on  either  side  was  very 
nearly  balanced;  the  American  being  eight  hun- 
dred and  sixty  seven,  the  British,  eight  hundred 
and  eighty  eight.  It  is  not  our  present  purpose  to 
correct  the  many  inaccuracies,  which  occur  in  the 
details  of  the  historian;  but  to  rectify  his  misrepre- 
sentations of  the  most  important  incidents  of  the 
battle,  which  he  has  so  strangely  wrought  into  a 
victory  for  the  British  arms.  We  claim  the  palm 
for  general  Brown  and  his  associates,  upon  the 
usual  evidences  of  victory,  the  repulse  of  the  enemy; 
capture  of  general  Rial],  twenty  officers,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  rank  and  file,  and  all  their  artillery; 
besides  the  actual  possession  of  the  field  some  time 
after  the  battle  had  closed.  In  other  casualities, 
there  was  little  preponderance  on  either  side.  The 
carnage,  not  confined  to  one  spot,  strewed  the  whole 
ground;  the  wounded,  dying,  and  dead  indiscrimi- 
nately piled  in  horrid  and  mournful  heaps. 

The  unvarnished  tale  runs  thus: — The  American 
army  had  been  posted  at  Chippaway.  Gen.  Brown 
informed  of  the  reinforcement  of  the  enemy,  and 
of  his  march  on  Queenstown,  at  the  same  time  men- 
acing the  American  post  at  Lewistown  on  the  op- 
posite bank,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  25th  July,  1813, 
advanced  general  Scott's  brigade,  Towson's  artill- 
ery, and  all  the  dragoon,  ad  mounted  men,  with 
orders  to  report  if  the  enemy  appeared,  and  when 
necessary  call  for  assistance.      On  arriving*  at  the 


I 


XXXV 1 


APPENDIX. 


Falls,  general  Scott  descried  the  enemy  posted  di- 
rectly in  front;  a  narrow  wood  intervening.     Des- 
patching intelligence  of  his  circumstances  to  gene- 
ral Brown,  Scott  precipitated  his  troops  upon  the 
enemy's  line,  and   maintained  singly  a  desperate 
fight  of  one  hour;  when  general  Ripley,  with  his 
brigade,  major  Hineman  with  his  corps  of  artillery, 
and   general  Porter  at  the  head  of  his  command, 
having  all  pressed  forward  with  the  greatest  ar- 
dor, arrived  on  the  field.     General  Brown  imme- 
diately interposed  the  fresh  troops,  and  disengaged 
the  first  brigade,  which  he  converted  into  the  re- 
serve.    Tiip  enemy's  artillery,  posted  on  an  emi- 
nence, the  key  of  the  position,  had  given  and  was 
now  affording  him  great  advantages;  and  to  secure 
the  victory  to  the  Americans,  it  became  necessary 
at  any  sacrifice  to  seize  it.     On  the  suggestion,  by 
general  Ripley,  of  this  necessity,  the  commander 
in  chief  ordered  the  proper  dispositions;  and  col- 
onel Miller,  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  advancing 
Steadily  and  gallantly  to  his  object,  carried  the 
height  and  seized  tlie  enemy's  cannon.     About  this 
juncture,  major  Jessnp,  of  tlie  15th,  who  had  been 
ordered  to  the  right,  to  be  governed  by  circum- 
stances, having  turned  and  engaged  the  left  wing  of 
the  enemy,  shewed  himself  again  to  his  own  army 
in  a  hlazc  of  fire;  having  captured  general  Riall 
and  sundry  other  officers,  among  whom  was  the 
aid-dc-camp  of  lieutenant  general  Drummond,  and 
made  piisoners  one  hundred  and  fifty  rank  and  file. 
These  glorious  and  concurrent  achievements  gave 
rn  undisputed  possession  of  the  field, 


Tl  . 


APPENDIX. 


xxxvu 


and  all  the  trophies  of  victory  which  the  ambition 
of  a  soldier  could  covet.  Not  an  enemy  appeared 
to  contest  his  claims. 

The  American  lines  were  all  reformed,  and  in 
readiness  to  receive  the  enemy,  who,  having  been 
greatly  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  lieutenant  col- 
onel Scott  with  twelve  hundred  fresh  troops,  again 
advanced,  and  with  a  determined  charge,  endeav- 
oured to  force  general  Brown  from  his  position* 
and  recover  the  lost  artillery.  But  the  Ameri- 
can lines,  not  to  be  shaken,  in  turn  pressed  upon 
their  antagonists,  and  a  second  time  drove  them 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  down  the  hill.  Two 
other  attempts  of  the  enemy  had  the  same  issue. 
In  the  first,  general  Scott's  brigade  participated; 
and  in  the  last,  general  Porter's  corps  was  distin- 
guished, precipitating  themselves  on  the  right  of 
the  enemy  with  great  effect,  and  making  a  number 
of  prisoners. 

Generals  Brown  and  Scott  being  wounded,  the 
command  devolved  upon  the  -steady  and  gallant 
Ripley.  After  remaining  sole  possessors  of  the 
ground  for  some  time,  the  American  army  return- 
ed to  camp  to  seek  refreshment;  no  enemy  appear- 
ing to  annoy  it.  On  what  pretext,  then,  has  the 
historian  claimed  the  victory  for  the  arms  of  his 
Britannic  majesty?  Alone  on  the  unblushing  and 
false  report  of  the  vanquished  general!  One  cir- 
cumstance only  favored  his  wilful  deception.  From 
the  dreadful  destruction  of  the  horses,  general  Rip- 
ley was  unable  to  bring  off  the  cannon,  being  un- 
willing to  submit  his  gallant  comrades  to  the  ton 
D 


xxxviii 


APPENDIX. 


of  dragging  them  by  Irtnd.  It  was  therefore  left 
on  the  field,  and  was  afterwards  taken  into  the  pos- 
session of  those  from  whom  it  had  been  so  glorious- 
ly wrested.  For  those  who  look  to  the  list  of  kill- 
ed,  wounded,  and  captured,  for  the  evidence  of  vic- 
tory, we  subjoin  the  following  abstract,  taken  from 
the  most  authentic  accounts  that  we  have  been  able 
to  consult. 

XXUed.  Wounded.  Miadng.  Total. 

British,  160  559  169  888 

American,        in  579  117  867 

Difference,         il  20  52  21 

In  the  beginning  of  our  remarks  on  this  memo- 
rable battle,  we  stated  the  contending  parties  to 
be  nearly  equal.     Our  calculations  of  the  enemy's 
number  are  exclusive  of  a  body  of  local  militia,  who 
front  the  best  evidence  were  in  the  action;  to;  what 
number,  we  have  been  wholly  unable  to  ascertain. 
It  would  be  fair,  though,  from  the  population  of  the 
peninsula  to  estimate  them  at  four  or  five  hundred. 
It  seems  they  formed  a  lieutenant  colonel's  com- 
mand.   We  find  them  mentioned  in  general  Drum- 
mond's  general  orders,  of  the  next  day  after  the 
battle,  when  they  were  dismissed  with  his  acknow- 
ledgments,  in  the  following  terms:— ''The  lieuten- 
ant  general  and  president  has  great  pleasure  in  dis- 
missing to  their  homes  the  whole  of  the  sedentary 
militia,  who  have  so  handsomely  come  forward  on 
the  occasion."    In  another  place,  tliey  are  spok^ 
of  as  a  party  of  incorporated  militia,  by  whom  the 
brunt  of  the  action  was  for  a  considerable  time  sus- 
tained.    And  again,   the  party  is  menUoned  as 


APPENDIX. 


xxxix 


21 


composing  a  moiety  of  the  advance,  under  lieuton- 
a!it  colonel  Pearson.     All  the  British  accounts  en- 
tirely omit  the  return  of  the  strength  of  this  body. 
It  seems  to  have  constituted  no  mean  part  of  the 
British  force,  ycl  its  muster  roll  has  been  carefully 
concealed  from  the  world.     Without  it,  it  would 
seem,  the  enemy's  numbers  exceeded  Gen.  Brown's 
division  by  two  hundred.  This  difference  was  early 
diminished  by  the  capture  of  general  Riall,  twenty 
officers,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  rank  and  file. 
But  during  the  whole  contest,  the  Americans  were 
doomed  to  contend  with  an  equal  number  of  English 
veterans,  and  a  concealed  number  of  local  militia, 
believed  to  amount  as  we  have  before  stated,  to  four 
or  five  hundred. 

(No.  27.) 

ATTACK  OJ^  FORT  ERIE,    tic.  *    ^ 

We  have  occasion  to  m^ke  only  a  few  reililirks 
upon  the  historian's  accounts  ot  «^  attack  on  fort 
Erie,  and  the  sortie,  of  the  17th  Septemi»*^  on  the 
British  works.      In  these  the  truth  is  presetiv.4 
with  candor  and  force.    The  defeat  of  the  enemy 
was  complete  in  both  instances;  and  his  disasters 
80  signal,  that  he  was  forced  to  relinquish  all  the 
objects  proposed  in  the  siege  of  the  fort,  and  seek 
safety  by  retreat  to  his  more  permanent  defences. 
All  this  has  been  fully  admitted;  and  the  author  is 
found  in  the  beginning  of  chapter  tenth,  to  acknow- 
ledge,  "that  the  Americans  had  been  taught  to 
fight  on  the  land  as  well  as  upon  the  ocean,  and 
that  they  were  Indebted  to  Great  Britain  for  their 


»i  _  APPENDIX. 

instruction."  He  might  more  truly  have  said,  that 
t^eJmmean!,  had  Uamcd  to  fight,  and  acquired 
Uutr  proficiency  on  British  subjects. 

(No.  28.) 

Jj^Pt^nrriay  AGMJVST  PLATTSBUItGH,  Uc 

Ihis  whole  chapter  is  exclusively  occupied  with 
the  formidable  expedition,  of  sir  Georee  Prevost. 
against  Plattsburgh.      We  have  it  he;e  stated  on 
British  authority,  that  his  land  forces  amounted  to 
lourteen  thousand  men.    These  effected  none  of  the 
purposes  of  the  expedition,  having  been  "baffled  and 
defeated  by  an  American  army  less  than  one  third 
their  number."    The  account  of  the  naval  battle  is 
most  fairly  given;  but  the  author  has  entirely  neg- 
le«ted  the  opportunity  of  indulging  his  fancy  and 
n<ona  feeling,  which  he  exercised  so  successfully  In 
presenting  to  the  reader  the  engageiiMnt  between 
the  Chesapeake  and  Shannon  frigates.    It  was  con- 
sidered in  that  r.~.  that  the  presence  of  thousands 
of  anxi(.»'-»pectators  on  the  one  side,  and  the  hones 
arMi  expectations  of  the  British  nation  animat  ng 
her  heroes  on  the  other,  increased  the  interest  and 
spendor  o    the  exploit,  but  in  the  present  case. 
When  fourteen  thousand  British  troops  were  anx- 
lously  waiting  the  result,   and    many  thousand 
American  hearts  beating  with  hope  that  their  in- 
vadei-s  would  be  arrested  by  the  success  of  their 
defenders,  Macdonough  and  his  comrades,  the  im- 
agination IS  confounded,  and  the  pen  refuses  to 

iJ^IhTV ".r.""""*  *"  *•"*  "'=*»'•«•  The  wailings 
of  John  Bull,  alone,  close  the  story. 


APPENDIX.        *♦ 


xU 


(29.) 
CAPTURE  OF  THE  BKUVDEEH,  Wc. 

We  have  ever  felt  a  pleast^nt  and  mournful  sen- 
sation, when  the  services  of  the  gallant  and  ever  to 
be  lamented  Blakely  are  recalled  to  memory .«- 
There  was  something  so  interesting,  so  charming, 
and  so  commanding  in  his  deportment;  so  amiable 
and  honorable  in  his  disposition,  that  made  all  who 
knew  him,  and  enjoyed  his  society,  take  the  deep-i^ 
est  concern  in  his  professional  career  after  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war.  It  is  not  necessary,  that 
we  should  now  detain  our  readers  to  say,  he  fulfilled 
all  the  expectations  of  his  friends;  and  shed  glory^ 
upon  his  country.  We  acknowledge  ourselves  not 
a  little  wounded  by  the  declaration  of  the  historian,, 
intending  to  disparage  the  victory,  that  **the  pro- 
portion between  the  two  ships,  in  sizej  weight  of 
metal,  and  complement  of  men,  was  greatly  in  fa- 
vour of  the  Wasp.''  It  is  not  true.  The  ships  wtre 
well  matched  in  every  respect.  Besides  other  au^ 
thorities  which  might  hi  quoted,  tbe  Reindeer  waB> 
rated  in  the  British  navy  at  twenty  guns,  affirmed 
in  the  British  papers  to  carry  twenty-one  on  th<i 
day  of  her  capture,  and,  according  to  Capt.  Blakelj^ 
had  actually  on  board  nineteen.  The  Wasp,  car- 
ried twenty  guns^  and  in  other  respects  had  little- 
or  no  advantage  over  her  antagonist,  except  in  the- 
moral  qualities  of  her  commander  and  crew.  The- 
Avon,  of  the  same  dimensions  and  equal  number 
of  guns  and  men,  was  reduced  by  the  Wasp  to  a^ 
sinking  state,  after  a  cannonade  of  forty-five  min^ 


xlii 


APPENDIX. 


utes;  and  W  actually  go  to  the  bottom,  in  spite  of 
the  exertions  of  thi-ee  consorts  to  save  her, 

(iVo.  30.) 

CAPTURE  OF  IKiSIIIJsrGTOJsr,  &c. 
The  account  here  given  of  the  battle  of  Bladens- 
burgh,  and  its  consequences,  tallies  nearly  with  that 
giyeti  by  the  British  admirals  and  general,  who 
were  personally  concerned  in  planning  and  exccu- 
^g  It:  but,  it  must  be  admitted,  is  very  imperfect. 
We  have  corrected  the  original  in  some  important 
details,  yet  it  still  affords  not  even  a  tolerably  cbr- 
rect  representation.     It  would  appear  from  this  ac 
count,  that  the  line  under  general  Smith,  was  at- 
tacked  by  colonel  Broke,  at  the  same  time,  that 
colonel   Thornton  engaged  the  Baltimore  troops 
under  general  Stansbury.      This  was  not  the  fact. 
The  two  lines  were  so  distantly  posted,  that  they 
could  not  partake  at  the  same  moment  in  the  en- 
gagement.    And  it  is  no  less  true,  that  the  enemy 
did  at  no  time  attack  general  Smith,  his  brigade 
having  been  ordered  from  the  field,  before  they 
Hi\  arrived  within   musket  shot  of  his  position. 
Ml  the  serious  resistance  encountered  by  the  ene 
my,   after  the  rout  of  the  Baltimore  ti-oops,  was 
fi'oin  the  flotilla  men  and  marines,  who  had  br  '^ 
}eft  nearly  alone  to  contest  thcit-  progress.     "^Xf 
liad  intended,  here,  to  offer  to  the  public  what   we 
h.va  considered  a  true  statement  of  the  events  of 
the  day;  but  after  deliberation,  have  determined  to 
leave  the  aff;;>r  an  it  stands.      We  have  regarded 
with  much  m^m:h9t}m,  the  reflections  of  the  histo- 
rian,- ispoB  t!;c^  vaaualic  coaduct  of  his  countrymen, 


APPENDIX. 


xliit 


I 


in  destroying  the  capitol,  and  oilier  public  edifices 
designed  for  the  accommodation  of  the  government, 
and  the  purposes  of  public  legislation.  They  are 
Just,  and  very  ably  expressed;  harmonizing  in  all 
respects  with  the  sentiments  of  the  venerable  Mr. 
Jefferson,  conveyed  to  congress  in  the  letter  by 
which  ho  proffered,  to  it,  the  substitution  of  his  li- 
brary in  the  place  of  that  destroyed  by  the  enemy* 

(No.  31.) 

THE  BATTLE  OP  JVEfV  ORLEAJ\'S. 
We  have  suffered  the  historian's  account  of  the 
battle  of  New  Orleans,  to  go  to  the  reader,  believ- 
ing that  every  American  is  possessed  of  sufficient 
information  to  make  all  necessary  corrections,  ex- 
cepting in  the  matter  of  the  relative  forces,  in  which 
there  is   great  error.    Tlie  whole  American  army, 
including  the  local  militia,  did  not  amount  to  ten 
thousand;  and  the  troops  engaged  in  the  defence  of 
the  city,  on  the  left  bank,   did  not  exceed   three 
thousand  five  hundred,   while  those  on  the  right 
bank  may  have  amounted  in  the  whole,  including 
the   Kentucky   militia,   to  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred.    The  remainder  of  the  American  forces,  em- 
bracing all  descriptions,  was  posted  variously  to 
repel  contingent  movements  of  the  enemy.      The 
whole  force  of  the  epemy,  including  the  naval  and 
marine  corps,  was  little  short  of  twenty  thousand. 
With  this  estimate  of  the  forces  contending,  the  re- 
sult gives  an  increase  of  disaster  to  the  enemy. — 
And  for  the  truth  of  our  statement,  we  refer  to  the 
reports  of  general  Jackson,  as  well  as  to  those  of 
admisal  Cochrane  and  general  Lambert. 


xlir 


APPENDIX. 


(No.  32.) 
C  iPTVRH  or  TBE  PRESIDBjrr,  itc 

EnlT^'lr  '"''"'■'*'"  ''""'•'  '""=  *»«='«""'  for  the 
cr.b,ng  .t  to  tlu>  presence  of  ti.e  wholo  squadron. 
It  IS  a  .act,  that  th«  En,Iy,aio„  j.aid  delrly  for 
l.er  te.ent.  in  engaging  singly  ier  a^tag^nistl 
.nd    a^er  asceHaining  that  she  was  over-match! 
cd.  fe  I  out  of  the  battle,  to  give  her  consorts  the 
opportunity  of  coming  „p  to  divide  the  glory  of 
he  victory,  and  the  profits  of  the  pri.e.    As  the 
hn,tor,an  has  concluded,  with  this  affair,  his  notice 
of  the  naval  evUs  of  the  war,  we  have  subjoined 
he  captures  of  the  Cyane  and  Levant,  by  the  Con- 
sftufon.  captain  Stewart,  and  the  Penguin,  by  the 
Hornet,  captain  Biddle.      And  here,  dos/ng'our 
desultory  remarks,  we  call  the  attention  of  the  read- 
er to  the  fact,  that  the  historian,  with  all  his  can 
dour,  and  all  his  endeavours  to  preserve  truth  in 
l"s  story,  has  contrived  to  omit  two  remarkable  na- 
va  engagements,  in  which  his  countrymen  were  si^ 

our  Lt?*"'  *"  """""  •"""  *""  '•"»«  off  conque;: 

CYANE  AND  LEVANT. 

On  the  20th  of  February,   ,815,  about  sixty 

leagues  distant  from  the  island  of  Madeira,  the 

L   S  fngate  Constitution,  Capt.  Stewart,  m„„„t. 

Bg  fifty-two  guns,  fell  in  with,  and.  after  an  ac- 

tion  of  forty  minutes,  captured  his  Britannic  maies. 

7J  *l' 'r  °/  "'"■'  ^'""'''  •=*?*«'»  ^'"'^o"'  «»ount- 
iBg  thu'ty-four  guns  and  two  brass  swivels,  and 


■ 


APPENDIX. 


xIt 


m 


Levant,  Capt.  Douglas,  mounting  twenty-one  guns. 
The  loss  on  board  the  Constitution,  was  three  kill- 
ed and  twelve  wounded;  and  that  on  board  the 
British  ships  was  thirty-five  killed,  and  forty-two 
wounded.  The  British  ships  had  the  advantage 
in  a  divided  and  mere  active  force,  and  in  the 
weight  and  number  of  guns,  and  entered  into  the 
action  with  the  greatest  spirit.  But  Capt.  Stewart 
manoeuvred  his  ship  with  so  much  judgment,  as  to 
avoid  a  raking  fire  from  either;  and  his  broadsides  ,-^ 
soon  compelled  them  both  to  surrender.  >» 

PENGUIN. 

On  the  23d  of  March,  1815,  the  U.  S.  sloop  of 
war  Hornet,  capt.  Biddle,  near  Tristan  d'Acunha, 
descried  the  British  brig  Penguin,  captatn  Dicken- 
son, carrying  nineteen  guns.  The  Hornet  hoved 
to,  and  the  Penguin  bore  down,  and,  at  forty  min- 
utes past  one  r >cit«»i5,  commenced  battle,  which,  af- 
ter twenty-two  minutCb.  terminated  in  the  surrep- 
der  of  the  British  vessel.  The  Penguin  was  so 
much  injured,  that  she  was  nox  worth  preservation; 
and  captain  Biddle,  having  remoi^jd  her  crew,  di- 
rected her  to  be  scuttled.  Of  the  Bntish,  fourteen 
were  killed,  and  twenty-eight  wounded;  and  of  the 
Americans,  one  killed,  and  eleven  wounded. 

The  captures  of  the  Cyane  and  Levant,  and  Pen- 
guin, happened  after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty 
of  peace;  but  before  the  expiration  of  the  time  fixed 
by  the  secoiid  article,  for  the  cessation  of  hostili- 
ties in  the  lutituues  where  they  took  place.  They, 
of  course,  ought  to  be  classed  with  the  naval  events 


■fek-.. 


xlvi 


APPENDIX. 


'€*-• 


of  the  war,-  and  no  one  can  doubt,  that  they  would 
not  have  been  omitted  by  the  historian,  had  the  le- 
suit  been  in  favour  of  the  "unrivalled  mistress  of 
the  waves."  In  the  United  States,  they  have  been 
considered  decisively  honourable  to  the  American 
flag,  ttnd  will  never  be  forgotten  in  the  records  of 
their  navy.  Should  the  historian  ever  be  called  on 
for  new  editions  of  his  work,  he  will  not  have  left 
an  apology  for  again  failing  to  state  them  to  the 
Cf^it  of  the  United  States,  if  our  review  shall  have 
""  le  fortune  to  fall  into  hit  hands.  For  his  benefit, 
and  that  of  our  readers,  we  add,  pro  and  con,  the 
following  memoir  of  the  naval  events  of  the  war, 
viz: — 

AMERICAN  SIDE. 

GUerriere,  captured  by  the      Constitution 


Alert,  do,        do. 

Macedonian,    do.        do. 
Frolic,  do.        do. 

Java,  do.        do. 

Peacock,  do.         #»• 

Dominica,        do.        do. 
Boxer,  d*'*         do. 

British  squadron,  on  Erie, 
Epervier,  captured  by  the 
Reindeer,         do.         do. 
Avon,  do.        do. 

British  squad,  on  Champlain, 
Cyane  &  Levant,  by  the 
Tenguin  do. 


Essex 

United  States 
"irasp 

Constitution  / 

Hornet 

Decatur  privateer 

Enterprise 

American  squadron 

Peacock 

Wasp 

Wasp 

American   squadron 

Constitution 

Hornet 


■"SPI» 


Nautilus,  captured  by  a         British  squadron 


•  *M' 


APPENDIX. 


xlvii 


Vixen,  captured  by  the  Southampton 

Wasp  and  Frolick    do  Poictiers 

Chesapeake,  captured  by  the  Shannon 
Ar^s,  do.        do.     Pelican 

Essex,  do.        do.     Phebe  and  Cherub 

Rattlesnake       do.        do.     Leander 
President,  do.         do.     Brttish  squadron 

Taking  leave  of  Mr.  Baines,  we  niust^make  our 
acknowledgments  to  him,  for  the  many  handsome 
things  he  has  said  of  the  American  people,  in  h\§ 
very  respecfkble  "history  of  the  wars  ov  thji'' 

TRENCH   RBYOXUTION." 


-^ 


'M 


